Total Drama Charity
by PikaScootaloo
Summary: With Camp Wawanakwa sunken and the budget for the next season gone, there's only one thing for our favorite host to do; host a mid-season season where eleven new contestants suffer through torture on a boat, all while raising money from the fans. This is Total Drama Charity! Episode two (Suckin' Treasure) is up.
1. Episode One: We're on a Boat (Part One)

"Ah, Camp Wawanakwa," said a voice as a video of an island panned through. "We've had this island for three out of our five seasons, and _boy_ was it fun. For me. Our campers, not so much."

The video cut to many clips, voices of the people shown talking having been edited out. "We've had some good times..." From a scene with goth girl Gwen and guitar player Trent stargazing during one of the earlier challenges, to one with Napoleon Dynamite expy Harold dodging some... dodgeballs with ease, to a scene where a golden Chris statuette lands near host Chris' feet.

"Some bad times..." The only scene that appeared this time was one with a huge mountain having Chris' face carved onto much of it being graffiti'd by jerk jock Lightning.

"Some _incredibly weird_ times..." Lovable lug Owen being naked and asleep while holding onto a salmon swimming up a waterfall was shown, and then a scene with lunatic fanatic Sierra attempting to give bubble boy brainiac Cameron a foot rub.

"And some wicked dynamic times, courtesy of dynamite, heh heh." A montage of things exploding was shown, one of those things being... Owen.

The screen changed to static, and the sadistic host everyone knew as Chris McLean leaned his head forward to mask some of the screen. "But the most important part of it all was the drama."

Chris leaned back, and the screen showed picture again, covering every single betrayal and heartache caused by contestants of Island, Revenge of the Island, and All-Stars. Queen bee Heather backstabbing her first season lackeys, blonde air-head Lindsay and farm girl Beth, Trent being tricked into kissing Heather, anything and everything jerk farm boy Scott ever did in Revenge of the Island, Mike's evil personality Mal's borderline serial killer tendencies to the All Stars cast, and many more.

"And, of course, there were the relationships, with a _whole_ lot of drama. Until the season five finale. I mean, seriously? It's like they were trying to get us to lose ratings," he rambled on. Chris took out a remote with a large red button and pushed it, having the screen rise up. "But that's water under the bridge. Or island under the water, that is. After last season's finale, the entire camp sunk underwater after a _little _drilling accident."

The landscape behind him had little land and whatever scape was. Pieces of debris floated along the water Chris' boat was on (though some would call it a yacht).

"We need a new island, but because our lawyers think that our finale challenge was so dangerous that they actually _cut our funding._ We only have enough for the million dollar grand prize. So! Thanks to the internet, we put up a notice on Sierra's fan blog yesterday asking people if they'd be willing to donate money for a new island. The response was _ginormous_!" He raised his arms up high to further emphasise his point, then set them back down.

"But just getting money from some fans who have nothing to do for their spare time just wouldn't be fun. So we roped in a couple of suckers—I mean, contestants, to participate in this mid-season season, where they'll perform terrifying stunts, so much more terrifying than season four's toxic waste and _especially_ more than zombie boy Zeke. So grab a seat, get to donating, and watch the pain, right here on... Total! Drama! _Charity!_"

* * *

"Here comes the first wave," Chris said, leaning over the boat rails. From out on the horizon, a small wooden raft appeared, holding five people, all of them just barely being able to have space to sit. Once the raft got close enough, an intern lowered a ladder that only reached halfway down.

One of the boys on the raft, who had long, straight red hair, yelled out, "Hey! We can't reach it!"

"Well then," said Chris. "Sucks to be you, don't it?"

The boy growled. One of the other kids on the raft, a boy with shaggy brown hair that had a part on each side stick upward, put a hand on his shoulder. "Just calm down. Besides, Chris could've done something a lot worse."

"I could, couldn't I?" said Chris, taking out another remote control and pressing the button, which caused the ladder to explode. The two boys in front of it gained ash-face for being too close.

Before the shaggy haired kid could say anything, red head cut him off by saying, "Not a word."

"Getting up here is your first challenge, Chris explained to the five. "Use what you can to get your team up here. And yes, the ones you're sitting with _are_ your team."

"Five people?" the brunette boy asked. "But that's so small!"

"True. And this is a mid-season season. We took what we could get. Before you all start, let's introduce you to the banes of your existance. First up, we have Tristan."

The boy with shaggy hair gave a half smile and waved, revealing himself as Tristan. One of the girls, the shortest one, started laughing at him. He couldn't fathom why until he remembered the ash on his face from the ladder explosion.

"Maurice."

The red head known as Maurice gave Tristan an ice cold glare, causing him to cower slightly.

"Millie."

The short girl from before, who had brown hair that became wavy near the bottom, raised her hand up high and waved it. "Here!"

"Vivian."

A girl with, for some reason, fake cat ears and a cat tail attached to her belt raised her hand halfway. "Yup! Ooh, this is more exciting that feeding all my cats in record time!"

"And... is it She-ra or Shy-ra?"

A girl with glasses and her brown hair in a bun looked up from the book she had in one hand. Even though she didn't look at any of them directly, they could see how _soulless_ those eyes looked.

When Shira didn't say anything, Chris said, "Okay... moving on." He glanced over towards the rest of the water and said, "And here comes the second wave!"

"Ha. Wave. I get it," chuckled Maurice.

On another wooden raft stood six teens, only one of them standing up.

"Welcome, new team!" Chris greeted as the raft reached the boat. "The six of you are your own team. Stuck with someone you hate? Don't care. Rollcall time!" He cleared his throat. "Runt."

The boy standing up, who had some _majorly_ tall blonde hair, pumped his fist in the air. "All right!"

"Dominique."

A short girl with her black hair in two puffy buns raised her hand. "Here!"

"Sung Lee."

A man in a purple tunic levitating in a meditating position responded by cracking one eye open.

"Twin terrors Aidan and Nadia."

A tanned girl with straight black hair jumped up. "Money time!" she proclaimed, putting her arms in the air, which accidentally knocked a boy with tidy blonde hair down into the water.

"_Nadia!_" the boy chided as he resurfaced.

She shrugged. "Sorry, bro."

"And finally," Chris continued. "Frankie."

A... person answered. "Here." Everything about it seemed to be ungendered. No hints as to whether it was male or female, not even from its voice.

"Only eleven people?" pointed out Aidan, who was still wading in the water.

"Hey, you're the best we could get in less than a day," he shrugged. "With the rolecall done, your first challenge is to find your way onto this boat. First team on gets something useful for the second part."

"Easy," Nadia boasted.

"Hear that? Nadia over here thinks it's _'easy'_. Can't have that, now can we?" Chris clapped his hands twice, and a hoard of sharks surrounded both rafts. "Try not to fall in the water. Or die. Or just everything Aidan's doing."

Aidan's eyes widened, and he glanced over to his side, where he was met by a snarling shark. He barely had enough time to yell out before the shark dove at him, dragging him underwater.

Dominique gasped. "Someone's got to save him!"

Nadia waved at her dismissively. "Just wait."

Chris laughed. "Wow. Sibling rivalry at its finest, _and they're on the same team!_ What other insane things will happen next? Will we be down to ten players before the first five minutes? And will this bring us ratings that'll top the rest? Find out when we return!"

* * *

"So... who are you people again?" the red head Maurice asked half-heartedly, adding a yawn for good measure.

"Hey guys!" cat chick Vivian said. "I've got an idea!"

Silence.

Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Your idea."

"What idea?"

He could see Maurice not even trying to hold in his laughter.

Millie bounced up. "Let's just climb on each other!"

Maurice practically exploded with laughter. He dropped on his back, rocking back and forth woofing it up. It made even the sharks uneasy.

"She might be on to something," Tristan pointed out. "We could all get on each other's shoulders so we could reach the deck. Sounds good?"

"Just like my cat Abby does!" Vivian said.

"Er... yeah. Just like your cat," he said uneasily. "So, who thinks they can hold all four of us?"

* * *

"He's going to _die_," Dominique stomped with a huff, glaring up at Nadia.

"Trust me, okay? I know my brother, and he'll be fine," Nadia said.

She opened her mouth to say something, but Dominique was at a loss for words. Turning to the other three, she pleaded, "Isn't anyone going to side with me on this?!"

Frankie shrugged. "He won't die. The producers would never allow it."

From the boat, Chris' voice could be heard loudly through his megaphone. "Yeah, about that. Your contracts don't leave us liable to any injuries or deaths you might go through."

Frankie raised an eyebrow. "Really, now?"

Runt, the kid with some _giant _blonde hair, leaned over towards the edge of the raft. "You can do it buddy! Do it! _Do it!_"

"I'm telling you all, it's a waste of breathe," Nadia argued.

"He's been in there too long," Dominique said in a panicked tone. "Some-someone go in after him!"

Just then, the shark erupted from the water, splashing everyone on the raft. When the drenching stopped, they were all met with the same shark... cuddling Aidan?

The feelings were not mutual. "AGH!" he cried out, flailing wildly. "_Get this thing off me!_"

Nadia wore the smugest of grins, directed mostly at Dominique, who fumed in response.

"All right! You the man, Aidster!" Runt yelled, clapping like a madman.

"My brother's the best when it comes to animals," Nadia explained to no one in particular.

"Are you sure?" Dominique asked, cocking her head to the side. "He doesn't seem to like it."

"_GET ME OFF OF HERE,_" Aidan demanded.

"Just _jump_," Nadia said, as if it were the simplest of answers.

"I'll—I'll fall in the water and become shark food!" he cried back.

From behind, the voice of Sung Lee rang out. "If one wishes not to attempt, leave him free to not do so."

"So you talk," Frankie said offhandedly.

"That's stupid," said Nadia towards Sung Lee's comment. Then she turned back towads her brother. "If this one didn't eat you, the others won't."

Aidan gulped, and he reluctantly slipped from the shark's grasp. With a deep breathe, he jumped.

And he fell within a foot of the raft, submerged into the water as every single shark surrounding the raft dove down towards him.

Nadia groaned.

* * *

"Vivian, you go—no, wait, you can't. Millie goes—hrm... Maybe I should—"

"Cut the chatter!" Maurice snapped. "Just put me on the bottom.

"You sure? Do you think you can hold all four of us?" asked Tristan.

"If it gets you to shut up, _yes_," he glared. Maurice rubbed his hands together and set his feet as firmly as he could on the wavy raft. "C'mon! Who's first?!"

Much to everyone's surprise, a loud clapping noise echoed about. They all turned to see Shira, the one reading the now-shut book. Wordlessly, she made her way over to Maurice and walked behind him.

"Hey, I can't take the weak one first!" he complained. "She won't be able to hold the rest!"

Instead of answering with words, Shira simply set the book down on his head. No sooner did he crumple to the ground, nearly within vicinity of the sharks' deadly sets of teeth.

"He fell down," Millie said. "So he's not tough enough to hold all four of us!"

"Unless you consider _To Kill a Mockingbird _to be heavier than all of us combined, that is," she said as she bent down to retrieve her book, making it the first time she spoke to them. "But that's doubtful."

"Who's going to hold us then?" asked Millie.

Shira didn't answer.

No one did.

* * *

As Chris lied peacefully on his lawnchair, an intern brought him a glass of juice.

"Contestants struggling to survive..." he said idly as he accepted the glass. "That's what you call entertainment!"

Chris raised his glass high in the air, giggling gleefully at the contestants' misfortune. He only took one sip of the juice before spitting it out on the intern's face. "Agh! This is Sunny D! I want orange juice!" He threw the entire glass at the intern, who fumbled to keep it from dropping.

Once the intern left, Chris sighed. Sure, making money using a bunch of suckers was great and all, but sharks were becoming to get tame. Too rehashed. But what other way was there that could make it harder for them without being something that would be used in another challenge?

He blinked. A malicious smile grew on his face as he started fiddling with his fingers, evil pyramid style. Oh, it'd be harder. And it'd make the fans donate twice— no, _ten times_ as much as they would have before. Besides, who doesn't like...

* * *

A ding went off. Everyone but Aidan looked around in confusion.

"That sounds kind of familiar," Dominique noted.

"Like my cats meowing!" Vivian beamed.

"Guess what, challengers?" Chris yelled out, using his megaphone. "We're givin' the fans what they want, as a nod to season three."

Nadia's eyes widened. "You, you can't mean—"

A light, upbeat, somewhat adventurous theme started up, and everyone groaned.

"Keep in mind that whoever doesn't sing is automatically eliminated," Chris said. "Go!"

Dominique, after looking from side to side, realized that no one else was going to start. She sighed, and began tapping her feet so as to get a feel of the rhythm. And then the words started flowing out of her mouth.

_"We're on a raft in the middle of the sea, don't ask me how."_

Frankie groaned, but still sang along. _"Hungry sharks surrounding the raft, wanting us all for chow."_

"Psst," Nadia whispered to Frankie. "They're surrounding Aidan, not the raft."

Frankie shrugged.

One shark resurfaced, holding Aidan's leg in its jaws as it jostled him around like a chew toy. _"AH AH AH AHAHAHAH, I HAVE TO BARF NOW,"_ he sang/yelled in terror.

_"Looks like he's havin' lots of fun, with his new friends!"_ Runt sang.

"_Though with this newly found torture, our wills will be bend," _Sung Lee sang in a monotonous tone.

"_So the question remains."_ Dominique's foot started tapping even faster.

_"Without a speck of doubt,"_ sang Frankie, giving a weary sigh afterwards.

"_So the question explains,"_ sang Dominique.

_"What we need to find oooout!"_ everyone on the raft, sans Aidan and Nadia, sang together.

* * *

On the other raft, the other team had no luck in finding out a way onto the yacht. They were still clueless when the song shifted to them, giving them a slightly different rhythm, one more fast paced.

_"Come on guys, let's get us go-o-oin', gotta find a way, to get them slo-o-owin',"_ Maurice sang, clapping his hands together for everyone's attention. Then the music came to an abrupt halt. "Any ideas?"

The music began again. _"Give'em a sacrifi-i-ice, like the book Shira's ho-o-oldin',"_ Millie suggested, reaching for Shira's book.

Shira held it away from the upbeat girl. _"They wouldn't li-i-ike it, the morals quite a sco-o-olding."_

_"We could get a really big cat—"_

"No," Maurice snapped at Vivian.

Tristan gazed around the raft, seeing many shark fins portruding from the water. He could almost feel those snapping jaws just waiting to eat them, which caused him to shudder.

Someone lightly shook his shoulder. Tristan turned to see that Shira girl, looking at him with her emotionless eyes, which still somehow showed that she was expecting him to do something. Then he remembered the music.

He glanced back at the shark filled water. _"So the question remains."_

_"Without a speck of doubt,_ sang Shira. As much as her near monotonous voice could sing, at any rate.

_"So the question explains,"_ sang Vivian.

"_What we need to find ooout!"_ all five sang together, then both teams sang the next few lines in unison, barring Aidan and Nadia.

_"What do we do, do we do we do?"_

_"What do we do, do we do we do?"_

_"What do we do, do we do we do?"_

The music cut into an instrument only segment, giving the players a break from singing.

From the raft with six people (if Aidan were to be counted), only Nadia didn't sing at all, and it seemed that Dominique was the only one to notice it. She lightly elbowed Nadia, getting her attention. "You need to sing."

Nadia's eyes widened, and she waved her hands defensively. "Oh, no no no. I can't sing, I–I hate it."

"But you'll be eliminated," Dominique pointed out.

"But I..." she trailed off upon seeing Dominique's firm glare. Nadia sighed. "Fine."

The singing part started again. _"So the question remains,"_ sang Dominique and Tristan.

_"Without a speck of doubt,"_ sang Shira and Sung Lee.

_"So the question explains," _sang Frankie and Vivian.

Nadia took a deep breathe. _"What we need to find ooo-oo-oo-ooout!"_

Right after she finished the final note, Aidan finally broke free from the shark's grasp and landed face first on the raft. The sharks immediately plopped themselves on the side, causing it to flip over and launch the six contestants in the air. They all fell painfully onto the boat.

"And Team B wins this round!" Chris proclaimed as he stepped next to the six teens in a pile.

"_This_ round?" Nadia said, her words strained.

"Duh," Chris said. "What, did you expect _this _to be your challenge? What show do you think you're on?"

Nadia head fell to the ground in response.

Chris snapped his fingers. "Intern! Get a ladder for the losing team!"

An intern appeared and did as instructed. Team A got on the boat a few moments afterwards. By that time, Team B had already recuperated from the pain and were now standing up. The only one on Team B that was not in any shape or form negative about the experience was Runt, who was... cheering.

"Welcome players!" Chris greeted once everyone quieted down. "You eleven have the honor of competing in our first ever mid-season!"

"Cut the chatter and let's just get on with the next challenge," Maurice whined.

Chris glared, but then continued. "I'm you're host, Chris McLean. To get you started, let's give you a tour of the boat."

"Isn't it a yacht?" Dominique asked, though Chris didn't bother to answer.

They were brought into a medium sized room, with nothing but a few wooden chairs to furnish it.

"Here is where you'll meet everyday for your challenges," he explained.

"What will the challenges be?" Tristan asked.

"Ooh, I hope they're fun!" Millie said.

"I hope they have cats!" said Vivian.

"The main challenges that you'll do have a certain theme to them," Chris said. "Which you'll find out soon enough, heh heh. Follow me this way!"

He passed them by the dining room, which had two rusty tables looking to fall apart, and the sleeping quarters, which were down deep into the cargo area, infested with mice and other vermin. There were five doors in total, two on each side and one in the far back.

"So, uh, question," Aidan said hesitantly. "Why do we get the crappy places when this yacht's good everywhere else?"

Chris laughed. "What show do you think you're on?"

Aidan groaned, and Nadia patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"Team A—Maurice, Millie, Shira, Tristan, and Vivian—get the left side. Team B—Aidan, Dominique, Frankie, Nadia, and Sung Lee—get the right side. Boys closest to the front, girls in the back."

"What's the fifth door for?" asked Dominique.

"That, player, is this kinda-sorta-season's Confession Cam! There, you can give your inner most thoughts for the viewing world to see!" Chris said. "To get our viewers more accustomed to you soon-to-be losers, go in there and introduce yourself. Feel free to mention other things, like what you think about the people you're stuck with and your thoughts about the show in general. Losing team, since I pity you for not having Aidan's freaky animal skills, you can go first. The rest of you, go into your new rooms."

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Tristan-_

"Uh, hi there," he says awkwardly as he shuffles himself on the nearly broken wooden seat. "I'm Tristan, but I guess you know that. Let's see... hmm. Guess there's nothing about me I can really say. I guess I think of myself as a team player? Everyone on my team seems..." He shrugs. "Interesting?"

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Maurice-_

"Maurice here. Yeah yeah, quit bowing. I know I'm all that." He scoffs. "Everyone here's so weak, it'll be a breeze winning this thing. The ones on my team definitely won't get far. The other team? Can't say for sure, but I'm obviously winning this thing."

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Millie-_

"Oh wow, an actual Confession Cam?" She squeals in delight. "Ahh, I'm so glad to be on Total Drama! It's like a dream that never ends! And I'm loving it!"

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Shira-_

She's writing in her journal, only looking up to the camera once, saying, "They forced me to come in here." She continues writing.

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Vivian-_

"This reminds me off the time my cat, Greta, accidentally got glued to my camera. Everything we got looked all fuzzy on one side!"

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Nadia-_

She sits down gingerly on the near broken seat. "Hey there, Nadia here. So my team seems okay. Nice to know my brother's on my team, as well as people who are tolerable at worst. Huge-blonde-hair-guy seems kind of annoying, though."

She taps her chin thoughtfully. "You know, I think I've got a great shot at this, especially since there aren't any villains here. Besides Chris, but still. Then again... it's too early to tell who's good and who's bad. Of course, the last five seasons had their villains shown like that," she says, snapping her fingers at 'that'. "There was Heather in Island, Justin and Courtney in Action, Alejandro and Heather... again in World Tour, Scott and Lightning in Revenge, and then there was a whole _team _of villains in All Stars. With all that, I'm so thankful that this mid season has seemingly decent people."

Nadia blinks, then gasps. "Did I seem villainous when I left my brother to the sharks? I mean, I knew they wouldn't hurt him, but they didn't know that. I guess I better explain that to the others. Especially the small girl; she seemed the most worried.

"Anyway, I think I've got a good shot at this. If I play my cards right and play fair and square, then soon, I'll be a million dollrs richer." She stands up, giving a victorious pose. "Money, here I co-_ahh!_" Nadia loses her balance, crashing to the floor.

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Aidan-_

"_Finally_. My sister takes too much time on these things. So, hi, my name's Aidan, and Nadia's my sister. We promised each other that if either of us win, we'll split the money half way. So, really, we've got a fifth of a chance at getting the money, which is pretty good odds!

"What do I think of the others? I don't know. I didn't get a chance to talk with the other four considering I was _being eaten by a shark_. Oh sure, the shark was just playing, _but it didn't feel like it!_"

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Dominique-_

"Hi," she says, waving to the camera. "My name's Dominique, and I'm so glad to be on Total Drama! So, I consider myself a loyal and trustworthy person, and I'd love to make some friends. Everyone here seems nice, but I'm not too sure about that Nadia person. She seems too... conscience-less? I can't think of anything better, but hey, first impressions aren't everything. That's kind of why I egged her into singing. I didn't want her getting eliminated before I could learn more about her."

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Sung Lee-_

He's sitting down, cross legged. "My name is Sung Lee. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here. If what I've heard is true, this mid season will provide us with some truly memorable experiences."

He chuckles. "I do not particularly care about winning. I would just prefer savoring these experiences. As a wise monk once said, 'it is the journey, not the destination'."

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Frankie-_

"Ah, I can tell that this will be _wonderful_," Frankie says. "Let me guess, not even you can tell if I'm a boy or girl? That's exactly what I'm aiming for. See, I have a plan, and if it works, I'll be winning this game. If it doesn't, they'll be winning a game of my own. 'Tis only a matter of time."

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Runt-_

"Hey people, my name's Runt! And I'm here to win it all! Yeah!" He pumps his fists in the air. "And if I don't, I'll still have some awesome friends that I'll make!

"Right, you need to know some things about me, don't cha? Okay then! I _love_ coffee, and my jokes are some of the best! Whoo hoo!"

* * *

Once everyone was finished getting situated, Chris instructed them to meet in the dining room. Team A sat on one table, Team B the other.

Chris stood in the front of the room. "Before we start with anything else, we need to give you team names. Team A, from this point, you shall be known as..." He produced a large green circle of fabric, with an insignia of some rodent. "The Generous Gerbils!"

None of the Generous Gerbils said anything.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "What, nothing?"

"We're gerbils," Shira said simply, voicing everyone else's concerns in a tone void of concern.

"_Generous_ Gerbils," Chris clarified. He turned to the other team. "Team B, you'll be known as..." He produces another circle of fabric, this one being black with a dollar sign on it. "The Money Munchers!"

Only Runt cheered.

"Hey! How come they get a name that means they're generous?" Dominique complained.

"And why do they get an animal?" Nadia added.

"Actually, I'm fine with that part," Aidan said.

"Why are _we _named after gerbils," Maurice whined. "And _hello_; we're in it to _get _money, not to give it."

Chris waggled his finger at Maurice's remark. "Au contraire, my red-headed idiot. For those of you who've seen the last episode of All Stars, you'll know that our beloved Camp Wawanakwa sunk. And because buying an island takes a _lot_ of money, we're using you losers for our mid season that's named..."

He pulled on the cord that produced next to him, bringing down a banner that said, "TD$".

"Total. Drama. _Charity!_" He proclaimed as balloons came from nowhere and floated down to the ground.

"Total Drama Charity?" Vivian repeated, and balloons started falling down on her.

"Shouldn't it be TD_C_?" Tristan asked.

Chris shrugged. "Someone already has that." He clapped his hands together. "Now then! You'll be getting some breakfast as we'll be driving to our destination for our first challenge, which should take about two hours. In the mean time, feel free to wander around in any place you've been shown to." With that, he left.

"...So, where's breakfast?" Aidan asked hesitantly.

From the Generous Gerbil's table, Shira stood up and backed a couple of paces. Tristan raised his eyebrow, confused.

Suddenly, grey glops fell from the ceiling and plopped on the tables. There was one for each of them. Or what was left of the glop. Most of it splashed on everyone.

Shira wiped her seat off, then sat back down. "I assume that Chef Hatchet is driving the boat, so our meals are automated to fall from a sort of trap door on the ceiling," she explained.

"Smart thinking," Tristan said as he wiped the 'food' from his arms.

Maurice sneered. "Not smart enough. You didn't even warn us."

"Your point?"

Maurice hissed.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Maurice-_

"Stupid Shee-ra," he grumbles as he wipes the gunk off of himself. "Thinks she's sooo high and mighty. She's going down first."

* * *

Tristan smiled slightly. "So, since we're not dying from sharks, how about we introduce ourselves. I'm Tristan. And you guys...?"

Millie, the girl with wavy brown hair and a thin blue and white vest, smiled. "I'm Millie! Nice to meet you all!"

"Vivian," said... well, Vivian, the girl with her light blonde hair styled suspiciously like cat ears... which was rather redundant, considering she wore fake purple cat ears. "And I've got forty-eight cats!"

"Whoop-de-doo," Maurice, the boy with longish red hair and a short sleeved shirt over a long sleeved shirt, sarcastically said. "Cat girl's got cats."

"You're Maurice, right?" Tristan asked.

"Duh."

"...Okay then." He turned to Shira, the girl with a sleeveless turtle neck and her hair in a neat bun. "And you're Shira, right?"

She gave the faintest of nods.

"...Okay then." Tristan shrunk back into his seat.

* * *

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Tristan-_

"Yeah, interesting..."

* * *

The Money Muncher's table had _everyone_ covered in whatever their 'breakfast' was. Most of them groaned as they delicately wiped it off. Runt cheered as he roughly wiped the gunk off of himself, which made Dominique uneasy.

* * *

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Dominique-_

"He's kind of weird," she admits. "But I have to admire his spirit. Doesn't seem like anything'll get him down. I just hope the others won't get too annoyed with him."

* * *

Frankie looked over to the pair of siblings. "So, Aidan and Nadia..." he/she mused.

"If you're going to make a joke about our names, _don't_," Aidan scowled, much to both Frankie and Nadia's surprise. "There's nothing you can come up with that we haven't already heard."

Frankie shifted his/her gaze at Nadia, looking for a response. Nadia shrugged, as if to say _'He's right'_.

Before Frankie could say anything else to Aidan, the sibling had already stormed off into the sleeping quarters.

"He's _really_ sensitive about our names," Nadia explained nervously.

Runt leaned forward, gaining a quizzical expression (which was a relief, since all he had been doing before then was cheering). "I don't get it."

"It's not obvious at first," she explained, "but you'll get it."

Frankie raised an eyebrow.

* * *

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Frankie-_

"So," he/she says, tapping his/her chin. "It appears that Aidan's got his own berserk button, so to speak. Question is, what about their names could it possibly be? It has to be something obvious, else he wouldn't assume that I'd make a joke about it."

* * *

Dominique crossed her arms, only to uncross them when she realized she still had some gunk on them. "I'm not sure if I get it either." She turned to Sung Lee. "Do you, er... Sung Lee, right?"

He nodded. "It is not what you get, but what you see."

Nadia rolled her eyes. "Great, we've got a poet and we didn't even know it."

Dominique gives her a look of confusion. "But he didn't make a rhyme."

"Not all poems have to rhyme. Besides..." She winked. "I really wanted to make that joke."

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Dominique-_

"Nadia doesn't seem so bad now," Dominique says. "Sure, she seems a bit blunt and a little careless, but she does seem nice. Even if she did let her brother, erm, play with sharks."

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Nadia-_

"You don't understand; I _really_ wanted to make that joke."

* * *

Runt shrugged. "Okay, I'm stumped. Tell us!"

She looked appalled. "_No!_"

"Come on, we promise we won't make any jokes about it!" Runt begged. "Right guys?"

"Of course. But I don't really mind not knowing," Dominique said.

"_I_, however, would _love _to know," said Frankie, holding one hand up. "I promise not to make any jokes."

Nadia's lips became a thin line. "I guess..." She took a deep breathe, then said, "Spell my name backwards."

Dominique looked thoughtful, signifying that she would be the one to figure it out. "It goes N-A-D-I-A normally, right? So backwards would be A-I-D-A... oh. _Oh! _Oh, now I get it."

* * *

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Nadia-_

"My brother and I've gotten a lot of flak from our names, and Aidan's taken it the hardest," Nadia explains. "I just hope my team's trustworthy enough to not make any jokes about it."

* * *

"You guys promised not to make any jokes, so don't, all right?" she said.

"We already promised," Frankie said.

* * *

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Frankie-_

He/She holds one hand up, just like when he/she promised not to make any jokes. Then, he/she holds up his/her other hand, which was behind Frankie's back and had the index and middle fingers crossed. A devilish grin grows on his/her face.

* * *

Frankie clapped his/her hands together. "Okay then. So..."

"Dominique..." He/She pointed to the smallest of them, a girl with her black hair in two frizzy buns.

"Nadia..." To the sibling with longish, straight black hair and stylish clothing.

"Sung Lee..." to the monk with a really nice purple tunic.

"Runt..." To the upbeat coffee addict with huge blonde hair and a loose white shirt.

"And Aidan's the one that left," he/she finished, pointing to the empty seat where the sibling with neat blond hair had sitten in.

Dominique raised her eyebrow. "And what's this for?"

"So I know the names of the soon to be losers."

She glared. "Don't act so high and mighty, Frankie. Or else we'll vote you off the team."

Nadia and Sung Lee nodded in agreement.

Runt pouted. "Come on guys, we're not voting anyone off! We're gonna win it!"

"Wishful thinking," Frankie smirked.

"I'm serious, guys!" he went on. "We're not losing any challenges, and we're not getting voted off! _So who's with me?!_" Runt set his hand out, eagerly awaiting everyone else's to be piled on his.

"Yeah!" Dominique said, smiling. "As long as we work together and bring our A-game, there's nothing we can't do!" With that, she set her hand ontop of Runt's.

Sung Lee was next, followed by Nadia and Frankie, both seeming hesitant but willing.

"To the Money Munchers!" Runt cheered, pumping up his free hand.

"_Money Munchers!_"

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Nadia-_

"Don't get me wrong," she says. "It'd be great to make some new friends, but I _am_ in it for the money. If the time comes where anyone but Aidan's in trouble, and I'd have to choose either them or the money, well... The answer should be obvious."

She gives an apologetic shrug. "Sorry."

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Frankie-_

"Team cheers? _Gag me with a spoon_." He/She makes some gagging motions before continuing. "This is a _reality show_, people. Friendship does absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, I've caused them to act somewhat hostile towards me. If we lose this, I'll be voted off. I suppose that I'll have to resort to means that'll... disband their unity, so to speak. Only if I have to, though."

* * *

_-'Generous Gerbils' table-_

One look at the Money Muncher's team cheer they had perform caused Tristan to sigh. How come _they_ could work as a team, but Tristan's grouo couldn't? Oh, what he'd give to be on that team...!

"And so my cat starts _eating_ the deviled eggs!" Vivian said, finishing her tale that Tristan had hardly paid any attention to.

Millie clapped her hands, a wide smile plastered on her face. "Tell it again!" she begged.

Too much cats for Tristan. "I think I'll go now," he said, standing up and excusing himself from the table. After one more wistful glance at the Money Munchers, he left the room.

* * *

_-'Generous Gerbils' boy's room_

It seemed to be a nice room, if a little small and empty... and dirty... and _oh god was that a rat giving birth on one of the lower bunks?_

Top bunk. Yes, top bunk would be better for Tristan.

As he climbed onto one of the top bunks, he couldn't help but notice how there were two bunk beds, yet there were only two boys on his team. Maybe four beds just seemed more practical or something.

After finally positioning himself in a comfortable position (as comfortable as he could get, at any rate), it only took two seconds until he came to a shocking revelation.

He was bored out of his mind.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Tristan-_

"I'm_ bored out of my mind!_ Good grief, what am I supposed to do? I brought nothing with me! I don't think _anyone_ brought any luggage!"

* * *

Just as Tristan returned from the confessional and made himself kind of comfortable on his bed again, the door slammed open.

"I can't _stand_ that cat girl!" fumed Maurice, the one who opened the door. "She's driving me insane!"

Before Tristan could say anything, Maurice plopped down onto the bed where the rat had given birth.

"Talk talk talk, it's all she does!" Maurice continued, not even noticing the afterbirth at the head of the bed. "I swear, if we lose, Cat-Girl's going _down_!"

Tristan hummed idly, still not over the fact that Maurice was still ignorant about the afterbirth.

"You got to vote her off too, capiche?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure," Tristan said dismissively.

Maurice sat up, crossing his arms together. "No doubt that she'll get the other two to vote me off. Heeey... How about you be in an alliance with me?" he mused.

"_What?_" Tristan was so startled that he fell off the bed, landing quite painfully on the wooden floor. Coughing, he managed to say, "An alliance?!"

Maurice leaned his head down to make mutual eye contact. "How 'bout it? Alliance, and I'll make sure we're going to the final three."

"..._An alliance?_" he repeated.

The red head hopped from his bed and headed to the door. "Think about it. I know you won't disappoint."

With that, he left, leaving a befuddled Tristan sprawled on the floor.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Tristan-_

"Are you _kidding_ me?! Does he think I'm a pawn or something? Alliances are complete _bunk_," he fumes. "They benefit no one but the alliancer. Doesn't he know that?"

He looks down at the ground. "But I don't want to risk going home..." Sighing, he continues. "I'll play along for now, until I can find a way to get him voted off. I don't want a jerk winning this game."

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Maurice-_

"My alliance options were pretty limited, so I had to go with the guy with weird brown hair."

He laughs. "This'll be too easy! No one's smart or tough enough to beat _me_! Aha ha ha... heh..."

He notices some gross sticky thing on his hair. It's not like the breakfast they had, and he's sure that it wasn't there before he went into the sleeping quarters. "What is this..."

* * *

_-'Generous Gerbils' girl's room-_

"And get this; it was _dog _food!"

Millie burst out laughing, rolling on her back on the top bunk.

"I don't even _have_ a dog!" Vivian added.

After getting the laughter out of her system, Millie leaned down closer to Vivian, whom was on the bottom bunk. "That was _hilarious_! The part about the lilypads—_priceless!_"

The door opened, revealing the final member of the girls on the Generous Gerbils: Shira.

"Hiya Shee-ra!" Millie greeted, waving her arm.

Shira merely nodded before retiring to the other top bunk. She took out a journal and a pencil and started writing.

"Didn't you have a book with you?" Vivian asked. "Did the book have cats in it? Oh! Are you writing about cats?!"

Millie gasped. "Are you a magician? Can you turn another book into a journal, pretty please?"

Shira continued writing.

* * *

_-'Money Munchers' girl's room-_

"Ahh...!" moaned Nadia in satisfaction as she lied outstretched on the top bunk. "I _love_ being on top." Her eyes widened, then she slapped her forehead.

"Innuendos got you down?" came the joking voice of Dominique down on the ground.

Nadia peered over to the side. "Total Drama's got that effect on people," she shrugged with a playful smirk.

"I'll bet," Dominique said, lying down on the bunk under Nadia's.

"You know something, Dominique?" asked Nadia. "I'm pretty glad that the boys have to share more living space with each other. We've got an entire half of empty space here!"

"Maybe not," Dominique muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"Take a look out in the hallway."

Nadia hopped off from the top bunk and glanced out the door, seeing Frankie leaning on the opposing wall.

"What's he doing?" she asked.

"Frankie's trying to psyche everyone out by not telling us what gender he is," she explained. "Sorry; _it_ is."

"That's stupid," Nadia grumbled, shutting the door. "It's obvious that he's a guy."

Dominique shrugged. "Who knows? That 'he' could be a 'she'. Either way, Frankie's not going into either of the rooms."

"Lame." Nadia climbed back onto the top bunk, crossing her arms together in a huff.

* * *

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Dominique-_

"I don't know what Frankie's trying to accomplish," she says. "Psyching out his whole team isn't really that good. Or maybe he's just doing it because it's fun. I'd rather believe the latter."

* * *

_-'Money Munchers' boy's room-_

"Cheer up, buddy!" Runt said, hanging from his feet upside down from the top bunk, facing a glum Aidan. "No one here's going to make any jokes about your name!"

"I seriously doubt it," he grumbled.

Runt turned to Sung Lee, who was meditating on the other bottom bunk. "Help me out here, S-Lee."

"Emotions are a tool to be used," said the monk, not bothering to open his eyes. "Be wary, though; even tools have a way of taking charge."

Both boys were too confused to even given a response.

"...Okay then," Runt said after a few tense moments of silence. He turned back to Aidan. "Let's get you some coffee!"

"No."

"Coffee always cheers me up!"

"You're never sad."

"Because of coffee!" Runt decided to go with a different tactic. "How about a joke?"

"...Is it a good joke?" Aidan asked hesitantly.

"Just listen! Okay, so a man walks into a bar—"

_"Ding dong, players!"_ said Chris' voice, apparently from a PA. _"Time to head back up for your first challenge!"_

Forgetting all about the joke, Runt flipped down to the ground and pulled a very unwilling Aidan from his bed. "Let's go guys!"

Rubbing his now sore wrist, Aidan reluctantly followed him and Sung Lee out.

* * *

_-On Deck-_

"Welcome to Mount Everest!"

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_

_-Tristan, Aidan, Maurice, Nadia, Dominique, and Frankie-_

"_What._"

* * *

**A/N: And so ends part one of episode one. I have the next part written, but I didn't want this going on too long. Later episodes will be a "one episode, one chapter" approach. So st****ick around for the next part of the first episode, where the teams take part in their first challenge! **


	2. Episode One: We're on a Boat (Part Two)

"Yes, Mount Everest," Chris continued. "Highest mountain in the Himilayas, it's home to—"

"Waaait wait wait," Frankie interrupted, waving his/her hands and stepping forward. "You're telling me that it took two hours to get from Canada all the way to Asia? And that the boat somehow made it to the very foot of this exact mountain?"

"What's your point?"

"I–but we–you–_ugh_!" Frankie groaned, stepping back as he/she gave up in exasperation.

Chris cleared his throat. "Now then... Mount Everest! Home to many wild animals, all waiting to feast on your innards."

Frankie looked about ready to blow a fuse, but Dominique put her hand on his/her shoulder before he/she could.

* * *

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Dominique-_

"Frankie might be a pain, but he-slash-she's still a person, you know."

* * *

"You losers are going to be climbing straight to the top, with nothing but_ these_!" He held up many harnesses and helmets.

Collective groans came from everyone. "But that'll take forever!" Aidan said.

"The first team to reach the top of the mountain wins!" Chris said, throwing the safety equipment at both teams.

"Why does our first challenge have to be so _hard_?" Maurice whined, shoving the equipment to an unsuspecting Tristan.

Chris laughed. "Haven't you losers figured it out yet? The whole _point _of this mid-season?"

When no one answered, Chris laughed even harder. After sobering up enough, he continued. "It's a charity event!"

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Tristan, Aidan, Nadia, Dominique, and Frankie-_

_"What."_

* * *

"If you remember the ending of All Stars, you'd know that Camp Wawanakwa sank. Since the producers refuse to give us money to buy a new island, we're using you guys to perform perilous stunts and challenges. The better you guys do, the more our fans donate!"

Runt cheered. "All right! Good causes!"

Maurice scowled. "You dope, Total Drama's anything _but_ good."

That didn't put a damper on Runt's mood, though. In fact, he was more than willing to be the first one hooked onto a harness.

Chris turned to one of the cameras filming next to him, confusing a few of the players. "Will our contestants find some way to climb to the peak? Will this challenge get easier for them? No to that; oh, these losers haven't seen what's in store for them at all! But you'll see, and you'll see more danger if you donate a lot! So find out when we return!"

He waited a few seconds, keeping the same expression on, then turned to the players. "Alright. Before we start airing again, you need your harnesses on. Ten minutes." With that, he walked away to the boat.

Tristan held up his team's supply of harnesses, looking absolutely perplexed on what to do. "How do you work these things?" he muttered.

Maurice cleared his throat, bringing Tristan's attention to him. "Haven't you ever gone rock climbing before?"

"Of course," he said, a little too quick and defensively. "It's just that I'm not used to these kinds of harnesses."

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Tristan-_

He groans, setting his head in his hands. "I lied. I've never gone rock climbing before. I don't know, I guess I just never lived anywhere that had mountains or... any rocky place, really."

He sits upright, a determined expression growing. "But I've got to try! My team might need me, and I've got to do my best.

"I just hope that my best is good enough..."

* * *

"Yeah, well, whatever. Just figure them out."

"Maybe _you _can figure it out," Tristan challenged. He could practically feel the smirk forming on his features.

"Fine!" Maurice swiped one of the harnesses, determined to figure out how to work the harness. His aura of confidence was wearing away the longer he fiddled with it until frustration filled in the absense.

"_Grah!_" he fumed. "Chris must've done something with it or something!"

"Can I try?" Millie asked.

"And me? It's like a reeeeally complex cat toy!" Vivian (obviously) said.

"No way!" Maurice snapped, swiping his harness away. He seemed to forget the fact that Tristan had the other four harnesses and that they could just get some from him instead. But it seemed that _they_ didn't know that either. "If I can't fix it, what makes you think you guys can?"

"How about Shira?" Tristan suggested. "Could she fix them?"

Shira almost seemed startled that her name was mentioned. Almost. She closed the journal that she was writing in. "These aren't broken," she said. "There is no need to 'fix' them."

"Then how do you put them on?"

As Shira took one of the harnesses from the pile Tristan was holding, she started pointing to different parts of it, saying, "Waist here, legs here, straps connect to there."

Tristan blinked. Well then. That certainly made it simpler than he thought.

The five of them put the harnesses on, then, after a little bit of debate concerning who was strapped to who, the Generous Gerbils set out on their climb.

* * *

"Runt."

"Yeah, Aidster?"

"You can't have all those harnesses."

"Come ooon..."

"_No._"

"And for that matter, why is there no snow _at all_? I'm starting to question whether we're in the Himilayas or n—"

"Shut _up_, Frankie," Aidan scowled, whipping his head in Frankie's direction.

"Guys, guys!" Dominique said, getting in the middle of the triangle of guys. "Enough!

"Runt, we need those harnesses. Could you _please_ give them to us?"

He looked confused, but then he gasped. "Oh, right, the challenge! Sorry guys!"

After Dominique distributed four out of five of the harnesses Runt gave her, she turned to Aidan. "Aidan, please, stop being so sore with everyone. Like it or not, you're stuck with us. If we try being friendly with you, please be friendly back."

Aidan didn't respond.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Aidan-_

"Shoot, am I being a jerk?" He sighs. "Sorry. I just don't really interact with people much, you know? I spend most of my time on the internet. The only thing I do know about friends is that I should never take my sister's advice on them. That's a mistake I won't make again, heh heh.

"But, uh, I guess I'll try to be nicer. Sorry in advance, guys, if I snap at you for whatever reason."

* * *

"And Frankie, you can think of what else is wrong with the geography of this area later, when we don't have a challenge to do," she concluded. "Okay guys? Now let's get strapped into our harnesses and climb!"

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Dominique-_

"It's hard playing the peacemaker of the group. But hey, it's worth it as long as it gets us to working like a team!"

* * *

After they all had gotten their harnesses on and strapped together, Nadia raised a pertinent question. "Where are we supposed to climb _to_?"

"Maybe Chris has a checkpoint ready," Aidan said. "I doubt that we'd climb to the very top."

"Yeah, I gue—!" Nadia stopped, then whipped her head around behind her. "Hey, where's Chris? Hasn't it been ten minutes?"

"It must have been, or the Gerbils wouldn't be climbing," said Frankie, pointing to the other team, whom had already started their climb.

"_But he's not here_," she emphasized.

Frankie looked ready to give another reply, though his/her attention was brought to something else. "Neither is the boat."

"The boat's not—_The boat's not here!_" she shrieked. "Where'd it go?!"

"Nadia, calm down," Dominique said. "We can worry about that later."

Aidan shrugged. "She's right. Besides, no one brought anything with them in there. We shouldn't be _that_ worried."

Nadia made a sound that was part hum, part groan, and part sigh. "I guess so..."

"If I may raise a point..." Sung Lee started, surprising a few of them. "If we do not climb now, we will not have a chance against the other team."

"Monk Monk's right!" Runt said. "Let's get going!" And with that, he was the first of his team to climb, the others following suit.

* * *

"Come oooon, hurry up!" Maurice whined, stomping his feet on the already-loose rocks on the mountain side.

Tristan, who was right behind Maurice, had to pull some quick maneuvers to dodge the pebbles falling on him. He succeeded in having most of them miss. Most. "Can you _stop _kicking already?!"

"Wah wah wah," the red head mocked. "Just get the girls to hurry on up here. They're taking way too long."

Tristan sighed in exasperation, then turned his head down to the rest of his team. Shira was a few feet away, though, of the three girls, she was the one strapped to his harness. Vivian was struggling behind Shira, and Millie didn't seem like she really _cared_ about the life threatening danger they could have been in. She just seemed happy to be the last one strapped.

"Shira, Millie, help Vivian with her climbing," he called out. The two nodded, going over to Vivian.

"_Hey!_" Maurice hissed in a hushed whisper. "We need to get going, _not _to slow down."

"We can't get going unless we get _Vivian_ going," he countered.

"We're trying to get her voted off!"

"_We're trying to win this!_"

"We can't win this unless we get going!" Maurice sneered. Deciding that he had enough, he shifted his gaze back at the mountain, mumbling, "Idiot."

Tristan had never felt this frustrated and confused before.

Vivian's voice rang out. "I'm ready to pounce like a cat!"

"She means that she can climb now!" Millie translated.

"_FINALLY!_" yelled Maurice, putting his hands in the air.

...Whiiich was a bad idea, considering that he was hanging onto the mountain with his hands. Now mountain-less, he immediated fell, dragging Tristan along. Then Shira, then Vivian, and then Millie.

Their screams were sucked away by the howling wind that surrounded the team as they fell straight to the ground.

They never landed, though. As luck would have it, one of the straps snagged on one of the ledges, jerking them to a stop.

Not one of them spoke. They were still getting over the 'falling to their deaths' vibe. The only sound that the group could've heard was the heavy panting of two of their members: Tristan and Vivian.

They almost died. They, almost, _died._ But here they were, dangling from a ledge, still high enough to where, if they fell, they could still die. And Tristan had a gut feeling that this wouldn't be the worst of it all.

Maurice's loud groan pierced the near-silence. "I think I got whiplaaaash..."

"C-Can I go h-h-home n-now?" Vivian stuttered.

"Calm down guys. We can do this," Tristan reassured, despite feeling just as freaked out. "Just don't look—"

Vivian shrieked.

"...down," Tristan finished, resisting the urge to slap his forehead. "Okay, uhm... ah! Shira, you're the closest one to the ledge, so climb up there and pull us up."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's either you or Vivian, and she's too scared right now."

As if to reinforce Tristan's point, Vivian cried out, "I WANT MY KITTY CATS!"

"I doubt that I'll be strong enough to pull all four of you up," Shira said.

"Just try."

Shira nodded, and she reached up to the ledge. Struggling a bit from the weight of her team members, she was soon able to sit on the ledge.

"Good, you're doing great," said Tristan. "Now pull Vivian up."

Another nod as she did as she was told. Soon, the trembling cat girl was, well, trembling, lying in a fetal position.

"Vivian!" Tristan called up, hoping to get her to help pull the rest of them up. When there was no answer, he went for another tactic. "Okay, Shira, pull Millie up next."

Shira shook her head.

Maurice's irritating voice said, "Just pull already!" before Tristan could even speak.

Tristan turned to Millie, wondering why Shira couldn't just pull the hyperactive girl up. His questions were answered, seeing as Millie was swinging wildly from her harness, laughing madly.

"Millie, stay still so she can pull you up," Tristan commanded.

"Sure, sure." She stopped moving around, and physics eventually put her to a stop. Shira was then able to pull her up, which she did.

"Good. Now have Millie help you pull me and Maurice up." Feeling his body slowly being pulled up, he knew the duo of girls were doing just as asked.

Tristan reached his hand up to the ledge, climbing up on it, then pulled Maurice up as well. Only when all five of them were safe and sound did the tension break, replaced with immense relief.

"Thank goodness that we're all alriii_iiieee!_" said Tristan before being interrupted by one heck of a bear hug from Vivian.

"Thank you thank you _thaaaank yoooou!_" she thanked, hugging him even tighter.

"You're... squishing... my... ribs..." he groaned.

"Sorry!" Vivian apologized, releasing her grip and letting him slink to the floor. "You just... _thank you_. Because of you, we're all alive!"

Maurice sneered. "Because of him, we almost died."

"Weren't _you _the one that had let go of the mountain?" Vivian asked.

"Yeah, but _he_ just had to wait for everyone else."

"But he still saved our lives!" she countered. "You did nothing except complain."

"At least I didn't get royally freaked out like _you_, crazy cat chick," he jeered.

Vivian hissed, clawing the air in front of the redhead.

Tristan, still in the process of recuperating from the pain, slowly raised his aching hand. "Can we... get going... now? Please...?"

"Yeah," Maurice said. "What do you guys think you're doing just standing there?"

Vivian responded by scratching his face, and action that everyone would have cheered for. She turned to Tristan and helped him stand up. "The other team's winning. We should probably move now, right?"

Tristan nodded. "Right... Is everyone still strapped together?" When everyone nodded, he continued. "Okay. Maurice, start climbing, _and don't let go this time_."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, stepping up to a slightly higher ledge. Which started beeping.

And then the beeping turned into an explosion.

* * *

"See any checkpoint yet?"

A chorus of nos.

Aidan groaned. "Then I guess we keep climbing. Dominique," he called down.

"Yes?"

"Are we ahead of the Gerbils yet?"

After making sure that the people hooked under her (Frankie and Sung Lee) and the people hooked above her (Nadia, Aidan, and Runt) were fine at climbing, she shuffled herself slightly to the side, looking for any sign of the other team. "I don't think s—oh! No, wait, we are! They're all on a ledge!"

The Money Munchers gave half-hearted yet content cheers. With the exception of Runt, of course, who just had to put spirit into it.

Nadia moaned. "Aidan, tell him to stop being so loud."

Rolling his eyes at his sister's request, he ultimately did so. "Runt, mind keeping it down?"

"Wouldn't want to cause an avalanche," Frankie quipped.

"Aw, come on. Wouldn't you cheer if you saw the checkpoint?" Runt said.

"Pardon?"

"Right there, Aidster." He pointed to a very large ledge up ahead, with a checkered flag that was clear to see.

They cheered once more, this time with effort.

"Climb guys, _climb!_" Nadia said, quickening her pace.

And then an explosion happened.

* * *

From the area where the Generous Gerbils were, a huge explosion cloud was seen, followed by a streak of smoke skyrocketing in the air, only to shoot back down, straight at the checkpoint.

Lying in the mini crated created in the ground was the five team members of the Generous Gerbils in a pile, all of them groaning in pain.

"And the Gerbils win!" Chris announced as he walked toward the scene.

The Money Munchers, who had just reached the ledge, all moaned in disappointment.

"Where were you, Chris?!" Nadia seethed as soon as she stepped foot on the ground. "The boat wasn't even there!"

"This isn't even Mount Everest!" Frankie griped.

"The other team cheated!" Aidan complained.

"Needed the boat for the second part; Viewers won't donate unless we lie; They unwillingly blew up," Chris said, pointing to each complainer as he answered their respective questions.

From the pile of Gerbils, Maurice's arms flared up. "Why are there _bombs_ on this mountain?!"

Chris smirked. "What, did you expect the first challenge to be easy?"

"Yes," came the reply of all eleven players.

"Then I guess you won't be expecting the second part to be even harder," he said, then dismissed the topic in favor of a new one. "Munchers! Since you lost, ya'll are climbing up solo."

A few groaned.

"That's right! Unhook your harnesses from each other." Once they did, Chris continued. "Gerbils, since you won, you have the choice of either staying together or unstrapping yourselves."

"I'd like some time for my broken ribs to heal," Tristan pointed out.

"Too bad! Get yourselves straightened out and climb to the top of the mountain. And be careful; just about everywhere you step is a booby trap. First team to the top wins!"

* * *

"Should we get unhooked?" Tristan asked.

"No way!" came the hasty reply of both Vivian and Maurice.

Despite being behind him, Tristan was sure that Shira was raising an eyebrow.

"You heard him; first _team_ up there," Maurice said. "There's no way we're unhooking now."

Vivian, clearly distressed at having the same opinion as Maurice, reluctantly nodded. "He's right. And besides, what if one of us gets hurt, and there's no one to help?"

"I guess..." Tristan said. "But we'll probably get slowed down if we all have to go together."

"I want to go faster, soooo," mused Millie, stepping over next to Tristan.

Maurice pouted. "What part of 'first team' don't you two get?"

Tristan mentally groaned. It was no use arguing anymore. Those two, Maurice especially, were too adamant in their decisions. So was Millie. So was himself.

A loud clinking noise shifted everyone's attention to where it had come from. Standing there, holding two unhooked harness clips, was Shira.

"Buddy system," she said, dropping the clips to the ground. "Millie, Vivan, and I climb together, Tristan and Maurice as a duo."

Tristan nodded. "Good idea. We'll meet you girls at the top, alright?"

Nods of confirmation, then the duo of boys watched the girls climb on ahead before climbing themselves.

* * *

"Okay, guys?" said Dominique. "Stay together. Got it? _Stay. Together._ Just because we're unhooked doesn't mean that we have to go off all on our own."

"Just climb faster," Nadia commanded, "or they'll beat us."

"I'm too tired," said Aidan. "And... hey, why do my hands itch a lot?"

Nadia raised an eyebrow, climbing a few steps down to her brother. "Hands itching?"

"Yeah," he nodded. Taking one hand off of the mountain, Aidan only needed a second to inspect it before going wide-eyed. "Should my hand normally be this red?" he asked, showing his sister the redness his palm had acquired.

She reeled her head back in surprise. "No!"

Dominique climbed back down. "What's wro—oh my," she gasped upon seeing Aidan's hand. "Did you say they were itching?" she asked.

He nodded.

"What are you holding on to?"

"The... mountain?"

"No, I mean..." Dominique leaned her head in, scrutinizing the mountain side. "There's a bit of poison oak on it."

"_Poison oak?!_" He scrambled to get his hands away from the substance.

"Better than being blown up," Nadia said. "Think you can still climb?"

Hesitantly, he nodded. "I think so."

"Then let's get going." She started climbing back up.

"Go follow your sister," Dominique told him. "I'll make sure the other three are doing okay."

"Got it."

Once Aidan left, Dominique gazed down to see the others going along at an okay pace. Just to be sure that they were safe, though, she started to climb down towards them. As she did, one of the rocks she stepped on made a clinking noise.

Two seconds later, a swarm of angry bees were glaring down at her.

Dominique gulped.

* * *

For the boys on the Generous Gerbils, things weren't going any better. Every step Maurice (and _only_ Maurice) took, a trap was set. From smokescreens to rabid wolves to being chased by Izzy in a vulture suit leading a flock of brainwashed cockatoos, they had just barely endured them all.

"_Please_, Maurice, just let me lead," Tristan begged.

"Yeah, right," he sneered. "You'll just lead us into more booby traps!"

The absurdity and insanity of that clearly wrong fact kept Tristan silent.

Maurice took another step. Then, after taking several more to avoid the fire ants that were released, he brought up a different subject. "So, alliancee..."

Tristan inwardly groan. "What?"

"How much you want to bet that we'll lose tonight?"

"I'd rather _not_ lose," Tristan said. "I happen to enjoy winning and being safe from elimination."

"Oh, come on. We're an alliance now, remember? I say that we get Vivian voted off."

Tristan blinked. "Why? She seems like a good person."

"She's a crazy cat chick, what more do you need?" he said, taking another step.

Tristan gave the redhead some time to dodge the red hot lasers that were activated before speaking. "I'm just saying, Vivian seems nice. It wouldn't be right to cheat her out of the game."

"She was shaking like a baby after we fell a while back, 'member?"

"Because _you_ let go of the mountain," Tristan pointed out.

"Because _they_ were taking too long," Maurice shot back.

"Because _you_ didn't want to help them."

Maurice scowled, glaring down at Tristan, who fought back with a glare of his own. "Listen here. This is _my_ alliance. I couldn't care less about the others. They're all going down anyway. And unless you want me to turn everyone against you, you'll do as I say and vote off crazy cat chick."

Their staring match kept on going even after the conversation was over with.

* * *

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Tristan-_

"This alliance is bunk," he seethes, crossing his arms together. "I don't even want to be in it! And I don't want to screw innocent people out of the game!"

He sighs. "Maurice is right in that Vivian's kind of nuts for cats, but she still has just as much a right to play as everyone else. So I'm not going to help him get rid of her. And while I seriously doubt he's got some 'villain skills' at convincing others to vote, I don't want to risk getting him so mad that he votes me off instead.

"I'll go along with his 'alliance' stuff for now, but I'm not going to vote off someone that shouldn't be voted off."

* * *

In the end, it was Tristan who caved and stopped glaring. "Fine. I'll vote for her," he said, not even sounding like a lie.

Maurice smirked. "Good. Do as I say, and you'll go fa—" He was cut short by another trap, which had a dodgeball hit him square in the head. He crumpled to the grou... Actually, he just dangled aimlessly in the air, being held only by the strapped that hooked him and Tristan together.

Not even bother to carry him, Tristan continued climbing, semi-careful as to make sure the redhead didn't get too scraped up.

Not another trap was activated in Tristan's path.

* * *

The girls of the Generous Gerbils, however, had a moderately easy time. Hardly any traps were activated. The ones that were, however, were generally easy to overcome.

"I hope the others are okay..." Vivian said.

Shira turned towards the cat girl and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you always have to do that?" Vivian asked with sincere curiosity.

Another raised eyebrow.

"I mean..." She sighed. "Forget it."

"There's a flying Izzy leading a bunch of cockatoos," Millie said suddenly.

The trio of girls turned to see classic competitor Izzy in a vulture suit, somehow flying in the air.

"FOR THE GLORY OF SANTAAAA!" she shouted as a flock of brainwashed cockatoo followed her down the mountain.

Too much for words, they made a silent agreement to never speak of it again. So they kept climbing. Unbeknownst to them, Millie had stepped on a booby trap so subtle, it wasn't noticed. But what came from it would certainly be, as its piercing red lights for eyes confirmed.

* * *

"Hey!" Dominique called out to the other three once she was close enough. "Are you guys alright?"

One nod, one murmur, and one cheer. Sung Lee, Frankie, and Runt, respectively.

"Need any help guys?" she asked.

"If one cannot strain one's limits, one can never strengthen their inner being," said Sung Lee. "At the same time, one should never strain themselves too much, for they will certainly end up doing more harm than good."

"...Is, is that a no, then?"

Sung Lee made a sound that left Dominique startled.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Dominique-_

"Was that a—did he just _groan_?" she askes, completely shocked. "What did I do?"

* * *

Feeling uneasy in the monk's presence, she decided to climb down to the other two. "You two need any help?"

"Some coffee'd be pretty rad," Runt mused. "Then I could climb this mountain twenty times!"

"Yeah, nice," Frankie said, rolling his/her eyes.

That didn't go unnoticed by Dominique, though. "Something wrong?"

"You're asking what could be wrong for _me_?" he/she asked accusingly. Frankie, suddenly, looked to be on the verge of... laughter? "What could be worse; climbing Not-Mount Everest, climbing Not-Mount Everest that's filled with booby traps, or climbing Not-Mount Everest that's filled with booby traps with a bunch of so-called _'teammates'_ who seem to want to screw me over at every point?"

She shrank back, completely overtaken with shock at this confession of... of some sort of negativity. So shocked, she couldn't form a reply for a good minute.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Dominique-_

"Oh. Oh my. I mean, I knew that he was—sorry, he-slash-she. Or should I just say 'it'? No, that seems a bit too object-y. I'll just say 'they'.

"Where was I? Oh, yes. I knew that they had some gripe about us climbing the supposed Mount Everest when it's more like a baby mountain, but they said that everyone was trying to screw them over. I thought, I thought our team was nice. Runt and Sung Lee seem like good people, and... well, maybe they only meant Aidan and Nadia? I mean, I personally think they're nice people, but Aidan _did_ snap at Frankie, and Nadia _did_ feed her brother to the sharks."

She sighs. "I wanted to prevent drama from happening on this team, but if Frankie's right in that everyone wants to screw them over... can I really trust these people that I've just met today?"

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Frankie-_

"I happen to consider myself exceptional at acting," he/she brags. "I certainly can't leave the game this early. So after that weak start, I figured, hey, it doesn't hurt to tip the scales to my advantage.

"By now, you must realize that, while I have my limits, I'm willing to do things that'll certainly flare up the drama. By doing that, I'm ensuring that I'll be going far enough into the game to over take it. After all, Chris _loves_ the drama. I doubt that he'd let me go this early."

He/She leaned back on the wall, a smug smirk on his/her face. "While this is going on, I'll be having a game of my own. One that I actually do want someone to win. What that game is, you'll find out soon enough."

* * *

In her stupor, Dominique had hardly noticed Frankie continuing his/her climb, nor did she notice the flying Izzy in a vulture suit circling the mountain with a flock of cockatoos. It was only until Runt had given another loud cheer that she remembered the task at hand.

"Domi!" Runt called out, climbing up to her. "Doesn't rock climbing just rock?!"

She couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

**(_Bzzt)_**

_-Dominique-_

"I'm not so sure about the others, but I know that Runt's a really nice guy that can definitely be trusted!"

* * *

"I guess it does," she said. "Oh, but we should be catching up to the others now. You go on ahead; I'll see if Sung Lee needs any help."

"Can do!" he chirped. "Be careful of the traps!" With that, he sped up to the other three.

Dominique glanced around in search of the monk, which didn't take long to find. She shuffled her way to Sung Lee.

"So, are you _sure_ you don't need any help?" she asked. "Because I'd be more than happy to help."

"Those who do not listen will become those who do not understand," Sung Lee said, not making any eye contact with the peacemaker. "The reverse is also true."

Dominique's expression was that of utter confusion. "So, uhm... I guess that's a no?"

His silence gave her confirmation in her guess. "Okay then. But if you _do_ need help, just know that I'm—_WHOA!_" she shouted as one of the traps let loose a barrage of acorns. With her hands clinging to the mountainside in fear, Dominique had no hope of avoiding the projectiles.

She groaned as soon as it was over.

* * *

Chris sat up at the summit, content in sipping his juice box and lazing around in his lawn chair.

He snapped his fingers, and an intern walked over to bring him a tabloid magazine. After taking it, he sighed blissfully. "It does my heart good to see a bunch of teenagers maim themselves for money."

"Not maimed enough," said a voice. Chris was about to chide the intern for speaking, but then he realized that the voice came from somebody else. Specifically, Tristan.

There stood the brunette, hardly a scratch on him. The redheaded jerk strapped to his harness and dragged along the rocky ground, not so much.

"There weren't that many traps when I went through," Tristan elaborated. "But Maurice here..." He didn't even try to hold a chuckle at Maurice's just desserts.

Chris pouted. "As much as the kid's misery entertains me greatly, I'm really disappoint that not all the traps were activated. _Please_ tell me you at least had to suffer through the lava acid."

Tristan seemed shocked. "N-No!"

With a huff, Chris muttered, "I never get any fun." Then, without warning, he pushed the intern off of the summit. "Now _that_ lifted my mood," he cackled.

Tristan looked about ready to vomit.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Tristan-_

Tristan looks about ready to vomit. "Chris is a _psycho_!"

* * *

"Hrm... wuzzah?" Maurice muttered, just barely conscious. "Di' we win...?"

"Nope!" Chris chirped. "Entire team's got to get up here, bro."

From the other side of the peak, the figures of Aidan and Nadia appeared. "Well, this is just _great_," Nadia seethed. "We'll never get the rest of our team up here in time."

Aidan looked about ready to agree, though his attention shifted down to the mountainside. "Maybe we will!" he said, peering over the edge.

Frankie was within feet of the summit, with Runt hot on his heels. Dominique and Sung Lee were much farther off, though they were still within sight.

"A little faster guys, c'mon!" Nadia called out.

"Looks like the Money Munchers might win this," Chris said. He turned to the two members of the Generous Gerbils. "Dudes, you might want to get the rest of your team to hurry up."

"How?" Tristan asked, surveying the other side of the mountain where his team should have been climbing. "I don't see any of the three anywhere!"

"Not my problem," Chris dismissed.

Tension was thicker once Frankie and Runt climbed up, leaving only Sung Lee and Dominique left for the Money Munchers to win.

Millie, Shira, and Vivian, however, were still nowhere to be seem.

"Five players left to climb!" said Chris. "Which team'll win it? Which will be going to elimination tonight? And which one of them will activate that lava acid? Find out when we return!"

"Another commercial break," Frankie muttered, still winded from finishing his/her climb.

* * *

_(Generous Gerbils: Girls)_

Where were the other three Generous Gerbils? They didn't even know. They were too scared (or focused on the situation at hand, in Shira's case) to even think. After all, would _you_ be able to think if you activated another booby trap and were being hunted down by the newly restored Total Drama Machine robot that had razor sharp wolf teeth glued to it, and you had to hide inside a small little cove just to survive?

No, you wouldn't.

And they couldn't, either.

So they sat there, waiting for the Dramabot to stop searching for them. Vivian was shaking violently along with Millie (though the latter might have just been doing so _because_ of Vivian), and Shira simply started writing in her journal, seeming to be the only one aware of how they could have been potentially throwing the challenge.

* * *

_(Money Munchers: Dominique with Sung Lee)_

Ignoring the still-throbbing acorn bruises, Dominique's eyes were greeted with the top of the mountain. Only mere meters away, Dominique could almost feel it. The other four were frantically cheering them on, cheering for them to reach the top.

But she couldn't go up without Sung Lee. 'Them' didn't mean her. It mean both of them, and no way was she leaving the monk behind.

She held her hand out for the teammate to grab. "Here, let me help you!"

He seemed disinterested in her efforts to help, and he passed by her, leaving Dominique confused.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Dominique-_

"Third time's the charm, as they say," she shrugs. "But he still didn't want my help. I just... why?"

* * *

Remembering the challenge, Dominique continued climbing. Although she only took one step before another trap went off. A medium sized vat appeared over her, dumping its contents all around her.

Thankfully, most of it missed her, though some of it did singe her sleeve. That didn't stop her from crying out in shock though. "Gah! What is—is this—is that _acid lava_?"

"Lava acid," Chris called out via megaphone. "Too bad it didn't do anymore harm."

* * *

**(_Bzzt)_**

_-Everyone barring Maurice, Shira, Millie, and Vivian-_

"_Too bad?!_"

* * *

_(Mountain Top: Chris, four of the MM, two of the GG)_

"And it looks like Sung Lee's made it up to the top!" Chris announced once Sung Lee, well, made it to the top. "It's down to Dominique, who's almost up here, and the three Generous Gerbils, who are nowhere to be seen. This is going to be a close one, folks!"

"Sung Lee, how much more do you think Dominique has to climb?" Aidan asked.

"There is but one clear path for her to foll—"

"Enough with the monk stuff," Nadia snapped. "We need her to win, y'know."

"Nadia!" glared her brother.

"Oh, shut up."

From behind his/her team, Frankie smiled.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Frankie-_

"From what I know, she's feisty on the outside," Frankie says, "but we've seen her to be a tolerable person when not under the pressures of winning."

He/She smirks. "So let's put her under pressure all the time. That'll quickly make her public enemy number one, diverting the attention away from me."

* * *

"Get going, Dominique!" Nadia called out. "You're the last one left!"

"Tension's in the air!" Chris announced. "It's still anyone's game!"

Tristan shot the host a glare. "They only have one person left, and we can't even see our team members."

"Well. Then it looks like you guys are going to the elimination ceremony tonight."

Tristan moaned.

* * *

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Tristan-_

"I guess it won't be _so_ bad," he says. "It's obvious that we're all going to vote of Maurice. He's just a jerk."

He pauses for a moment, then chuckles. "Kind of refreshing to have the biggest jerk go first, isn't it?"

* * *

Chris reclined back on his lawn chair. "Gee, if only there was a way for you to see where your teammates are, which our cameras could definitely see..." He tapped his chin mockingly. "Oh, wait, there is!"

"...And?" Tristan pressed on.

"What, you think I'm going to show you losers?" he laughed. "Please. As long as our audience sees, and as long as I get paid, I've got no reason to show you."

"Cannibalism...!" Maurice murmured, still dazed and half-conscious.

"I got to say, as much as I enjoy the misery your teammates are in, it's seriously draining the suspense." Chris stood up, crossing his arms together. "Nothing short of a miracle is going to get your team to win."

Then, Chris looked up to the sky expectantly. After a few seconds, his face contorted into that of irritation. "Darn. I was hoping that that'd work."

Suddenly, as if to please Chris' every whim, a loud screeching sound reverberated throughout the mountaintop, drowning out the noise that the Money Munchers were making for whatever reason. What appeared from the clouds was something gasp-worthy.

The Total Drama Machine flew into view with large wings attached to each side, enabling it to fly. From its mechanical hands were the unmistakable figures of Shira, Millie, and Vivian.

The robot screeched again, landing somewhat roughly on the peak, the girls stumbling out of its grasp.

Tristan was overjoyed. As he knelt down to help each of them up, he found himself unable to create coherent sentences. "That was—How did you—I mean—_Wow!_"

Chris clapped his hands slowly. "Good job, Generous Gerbils. Unfortunately, you lost."

All five of them, even unemotional Shira and dazed Maurice, shouted out, "_What?!_"

Chris, with his ever so smug face, pointed a thumb behind him. There stood the Money Munchers; _all_ of them. "What did you think they were making all that noise for?"

The Money Munchers responded by cheering.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Maurice-_

"Obviously they were groaning because we had won," he says wholeheartedly. "But cheering? Didn't see that coming.

"Whatever. Just means that cat girl's gone tonight."

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Dominique-_

"I'm glad we won! I'm still kind of... weirded out, I think, about how I hardly helped out. Hrm..."

* * *

"But you _do_ get a reward for making the Drama Machine actually usable," he continued.

"Better than nothing," Tristan shrugged.

"I agree!" Vivian, well, agreed.

Chris' expression didn't change, which worried a few of them. Wordlessly, he took out a remote and pressed a button.

Lava acid poured down all around them.

As they screamed in terror, Chris turned to the camera. "Looks like the Money Munchers have won the first challenge! Who's going home from the Generous Gerbils? What'll become of the winning Money Munchers? And will we have to make this episode an hour long? Find out, when we return!"

"_More_ commercials?!" Frankie whined.

* * *

_(Hours later, back in the boat, Generous Gerbils, Boys' room)_

Tristan collapsed on the bed, thankful to have something even vaguely soft to be on. He never realized how physically winded he could get from climbing a mountain!

His bliss was pushed away in favor of the realization that someone would be voted off later on tonight. It didn't make him so sad since he was pretty sure that Maurice'd get the boot. But there was always the possibility that someone _else_ could get voted off, and they'd be stuck with the redheaded jerk.

So really, he couldn't be sure on what would happen.

He sighed. "This game is harder than I thought..."

There was a light knock on the door, snapping Tristan from his thoughts.

"Come in."

The door opened halfway, revealing the knocker to be Vivian. "Uhm, hi Tristan..."

Tristan sat up. "Oh, hey Vivian. What's up?"

"Nothing, really," Vivian said nervously, allowing herself in. She closed the door and... locked it? "Maurice wouldn't happen to be in here, would he?"

"No."

She sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."

"So what brings you here?" he asked as Vivian sat down on the bed across from Tristan's.

She shrugged. "I guess I wanted to... I mean, I figured, since someone's going home tonight, I'd learn about my other teammates. You know, since one of us is getting voted off and all..."

"Oh."

"I've already talked with Millie and Shira," she explained. "Millie just wanted me to tell more stories about my cats—which were fun to tell, you know—and Shira didn't really have to talk for me to 'get' her."

"Okay then," he said, hunching over and setting his arms on his knees. "What do you want to know?"

"I'm... not sure. You're kind of hard to read. Or maybe you aren't. I don't know, I've been interacting with cats most of my life. I'm not sure if I can actually read people well."

"I see," he said, not knowing of what else to say.

"Thank you," she said abruptly.

"For what?"

"Saving our lives!" Vivian said. "When we were hanging from the mountain during the first part of the challenge, you were so calm and focused and determined and you, you saved us!"

"I did, didn't I?" he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'd say it was nothing, but since it saved our lives, I guess it _wasn't_ nothing."

"Yeah. So, uhm... thanks." Just as suddenly as she brought it up, she dropped the subject altogether. "Who are you voting for?"

"Oh! That's easy, it's—"

The doorknob's rustling interrupted Tristan, which lasted for a moment, then stopped. A furious knock on the door was then heard.

"Open up!" hissed the unmistakable voice of Maurice.

Vivian cursed under her breathe. Standing up, she said, "I should be going now." She unlocked the door and swung it open.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Maurice said, eying her intently.

"Thanking Tristan for saving our lives. What else?" she said.

"Droning about cats, obviously?" he smirked.

Vivian left in disgust, but not without giving Tristan a small wave.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_

_-Vivian-_

"Ooh, that Maurice makes me so mad!" she seethes, clawing at the air. "I hope his stupid butt gets thrown off this boat! Hmph!

"But that Tristan. He's one heck of a guy, what with saving our lives and all. I really hope he makes it far in this game!"

* * *

Maurice sneered, closing the door and... locking it. "Stupid cat girl, ruining our chances of winning."

Irritated, Tristan crossed his arms together in a huff. "What do you have against Vivian?"

"I told you; crazy cat chick ruined our chances of winning. She's going down tonight."

Tristan couldn't help but gulp. "B–But it's only two of us against the other three," he lied.

"Yeah, well, it can't be _that_ hard to convince one of the other two to vote for her," he said as he leaned against the bedframe.

"I'm pretty sure it is," Tristan said. "Shira doesn't seem like the kind of person you can manipulate, and Millie's too buddy-buddy with Vivian to vote for her." It took all of his willpower to point out how he _wasn't_ going to vote for her either. "Face it. You're not getting her voted off."

"Just you watch," the redhead muttered, marching towards the door. He crashed his face into it when he tried to open the door, however. Mumbling a few swears, he unlocked the door, swung it open, and continued to stomp out.

Only when he was far gone did Tristan laugh.

* * *

**_(Bzzt)_**

_-Tristan-_

"Bwahahaha! Oh my—he just hit the door and—ahahahaha!"

* * *

_(One hour later; Elimination ceremony; Generous Gerbils on the deck)_

The tension was so thick, it could've been cut by a knife. After they had all voted, the Generous Gerbils, sat down on little metal stumps. Some of them were nervous. Others were indifferent. But the anxiety that loomed in the air could be felt by all, which was amplified when Chris walked up to his podium.

"Welcome to your first ever elimination ceremony," he greeted, his tone feigning seriousness. "On this plate—" He held up a tin platter with a few pieces of candy on it. "—I have four pieces of candy corn, in reference to the mountain you all climbed. Which you sucked at, but whatever. When I call your name, that means you're safe. Whoever doesn't get a piece of candy will go down the Deck of Shame—which is here—, and they'll take the Fling of Shame."

"The _what_?" Maurice asked. "Where is it?"

"Behind ya, dude," Chris said, pointing to the large slingshot-like contraption that sat behind them all. No, no wait. It actually _was_ a giant slingshot.

"They'll take the Fling of Shame, and they can't come back. E–_ver_. First candy corn goes to... Millie."

In her giddiness, she nearly dropped the candy corn she had caught.

"Tristan."

Relieved, he reached his hand out for the candy only for it to smack him in the face.

"Shee-ra, or whatev."

Shira caught it.

"Down to Vivian and Maurice," Chris announced. "Maurice, you're here because you let go of the mountain, argued with everyone about everything, and you were just an all-around jerk. Vivian, you're here because you're way obsessed with cats, and... Actually, that's it. So! The final candy corn of the night goes to..."

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

"...Vivian."

Smiling, she caught the piece of candy in her mouth.

Maurice just sat there, dumbstruck.

"Sorry dude, it was three votes to two," Chris shrugged. "It's off to the Fling of Shame for you... _if_ this was an elimination ceremony."

"_What_," said Tristan, surprised.

"_What_," said Vivian, angry.

"_What_," said Millie, confused.

"_What_," said Maurice, relieved.

"It was rather obvious," said Shira, deadpan.

"That's right!" chirped Chris. "As we speak, the Money Munchers are getting themselves a nice, relaxing dinner in the good dining hall!"

"So no one's going home tonight?" Vivian asked.

"That's right!" he repeated, then turned towards a camera. "So this wasn't necessarily a suspenseful elimination ceremony. But don't worry! Next time, we'll have more drama and more hurts than you can imagine! Be sure to donate, 'cause we _do _need a new island. Tune in next time for an all new Total. Drama! _Chaaarity!_"

* * *

**A/N: With the end of episode one, this is more than a perfect time to elaborate on my intentions.**

**I've always wanted to try my hand at doing a "mid-season" season, and with how All Stars ended, this was too perfect to pass up.**

**I want to make this fic good, and to do that, the characters need to be good. That's why there are only eleven contestants; any more would be too much to develop. I mean, my personal gripe with TD fics that have their own season and their own original character cast is that the characters don't... pop out. They don't feel like characters. I'm not going to make that mistake for this story, no siree! **

**Each 'episode' (there'll be thirteen episodes, by the by) will be one long chapter, and updates will be _very _sporadic from here on out. Sorry.**

**So the characters. For those of you who like list thingies, here's the list of each character and their stereotypes:**

**_Generous Gerbils:_**  
_**Tristan: The Leader**_  
_**Shira: The Quiet Writer**_  
_**Millie: The Cheerful**_  
_**Vivian: The Crazy Cat Chick**_  
_**Maurice: The Wannabe Villain**_

_**Money Munchers:**_  
_**Aidan: The Twin (The Internet Savvy/The Friendless (pick one; odds are, they'll either be developed a lot or very little))**_  
_**Nadia: The Twin (The Greedy Gal)**_  
_**Dominique: The Team Sport**_  
_**Runt: The Coffee Addict**_  
_**Sung Lee: The Monk**_  
**_Frankie: The... Person_**

**Got it? Good.**

**NEXT TIME: (Episode Two: ****_Suckin' Treasure_****) The teams look for sunken treasure down in the deepest trench... which happens to look a lot like the sunken island of Camp Wawanakwa. Special guests include four, count 'em, four cameo contestants! Who are they? You'll have to find out!**

**Stay sharp!**

**P.S.: The reason that it's "TD$" instead of "TDC" is because I don't want this to be confused with Total Drama Comeback, which is a pretty iconic fic. Good? Absolutely, but it just doesn't 'wow' me.**


	3. Episode Two: Suckin' Treasure

"Last time on Total Drama Charity..." said Chris' voice as scenes from the first challenge appeared, the first being a shot of the boat.

"Eleven new contestants joined up on this mid-season." The scene cut to the teens on two rafts being surrounded by ravenous sharks. "After a little bit of 'getting-to-know-of-your-existance' time, the second team made it up to the boat first, thanks to animal freak Aidan." It showed the six team members collapsed in a pile on the deck.

"You may be asking, 'was there a reward for that?'. Yes there was: their _lives_, heh heh heh. After some rather disgusting slop for breakfast for both teams..." It showed a scene where everyone, barring Shira, was covered in gruel.

"... and some drama for the Money Munchers..." A furious Aidan was shown stomping away from his table.

"We finally started our actual challenge: climbing Mount Everest." A picture of the mountain they climbed, which looked nothing like Everest, was shown.

"Both teams trudged through treacherous and terrifying trials, such as booby traps, the Total Drama Machine, songs, and drama." Scenes that matched each scenario were shown in succession.

"Despite having the clear advantage, it was the Money Munchers that took the first victory, and the Generous Gerbils had to boot someone off... is what they _would_ have done, if it weren't a reward challenge. So no, no elimination then."

Chris himself walked out on the Deck of Shame, standing in front of the Fling of Shame. "Eleven players remain, but not for long. Someone's getting flung off this boat tonight. With it be a Generous Gerbils—Maurice the Wannabe Villain, Millie the Friendly, Tristan the Leader, Shira the Quiet Writer, or Vivian the Crazy Cat Chick? Or will it be a Money Muncher—Aidan the Internet Savvy, Dominique the Team Sport, Frankie the Person, Nadia the Greedy, Runt the Coffee Addict, or Sung Lee the Monk? Stick around to find out, right here, right now! On Total! Drama! _Charity!_"

* * *

_(Cafeteria)_

At the cafeteria, not a single person wanted to ingest any of the squishy, slimy, moving slop that they were given.

"I'm _so_ not eating this," Nadia proclaimed.

"I don't think anyone is," Aidan pointed out.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Nadia-_

"I swear, if it weren't for that reward dinner for winning yesterday's challenge, I'd be starving to death."

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Maurice-_

"I'm _starving_ to death over here!" he fumes. "We'd better win the next reward challenge that gives food."

* * *

Everyone included the Generous Gerbils. Those five members just eyed their bowls with equal disgust the Money Munchers had.

"Uhm... I think mine's moving," said Millie.

Suddenly and thankfully, Chris' voice came on via intercom. _"Greetings campers! Your next challenge starts in two minutes!"_

"Already?!" Tristan asked. "But we just had a challenge yesterday!"

_"Don't care. Just get your teenage butts up to the Deck of Shame to get started on your next challenge."_

All eleven of them were in silent agreement that not even a challenge could be worse than their 'breakfast'. They all shuffled up to the deck, having an entire minute to spare.

* * *

_(Deck of Shame)_

Both teams stood in their own separate groups as Chris walked up to them. "That was pretty quick, guys."

"What do you expect?" Nadia fumed. "That breakfast was a death sentence waiting to happen."

Dominique looked worried. "Don't say that, Nadia! Chef might hear!"

Chris chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about Chef. He's too busy setting up the third challenge that you'll be doing at another time. For now, worry about _this_ challenge, because you're going to be..." He produced a large scuba diving suit. "Diving down into the Mariana Trench!"

"Impossible," Frankie said. "That trench is the deepest trench in the world. Nothing has _ever_ gotten to the bottom."

"Don't get your undergarments in a twist," Chris said. "Today, you guys are diving down to the very bottom to get something of value and bring it back up."

"But we can't," Frankie countered. "There's too much pressure for anything to get to the bottom."

"No there isn't."

"Yes there is."

"Nope, I think science is wrong," Chris said.

Then, a voice that sounded like a little boy rang out. "_Hey!_ Science is _never_ wrong! Most of it is proven by facts, and the ones that aren't are classified as theories, meaning they are unproven!"

The host clasped his hands together like a giddy kid in a candy store. "And what a great way to introduce today's Cameo Contestants!"

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Dominique-_

"Cameo... contestants?" she asks to no one in particular. "Like, past players?"

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Frankie-_

"Hmm. Cameo contestants..." he/she muses, putting a finger to his/her chin thoughtfully. "Sounds interesting."

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Vivian-_

"Please let it be someone who likes cats, please let it be someone who likes cats..."

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Runt-_

"WHOO! Oh man, I so hope that it's one of the fun contestants!"

* * *

"So who are they?" Nadia asked.

"Why don't 'cha take a look off the rails," he said, motioning to the railing.

Nadia walked over and did as told. "Are they... How long have they _been_ there?"

"I don't know, three days?" Chris shrugged.

Aidan became curious enough to check as well, and soon, everyone did.

"That's right!" Chris announced. "Today's Cameo Contestants are..."

Floating in the water was a building with a roof that held four people, those people being season finalists.

"Gwen, Cameron, Mike, and Zoey!"

Zoey seemed even more shocked than the newer contestants. "Cameo contestants? ... Did–did you start a new season already? It hasn't even been a week yet!"

Gwen nodded. "What, are you just too obsessed with money, McLean?"

"Yes to that, and yes to that too," Chris said, then he turned to the actual contestants. "You guys'll dive down into the Mariana Trench and get something of value. Then these four almost-winners—"

"Actually, Cam won season four," Mike pointed out. "And Zoey won All Stars."

Zoey gave her boyfriend a questioning look. "I thought _you_ won it."

"I'm pretty sure I distracted Chef while you got the sword."

"That's not how I remember it," she said. "I got Chef's attention by defending his shooting while _you_ got the sword."

"That's not... Which one of us won?"

"Doesn't matter!" Chris called out. "You're all still losers on the inside. Now can I _continue_?"

"I don't know, can you?" Gwen snarked.

"Keep that up and we'll find Heather and handcuff her to you."

"... I'll stop."

"Good. Okay! As I was saying, when you bring back up something of value, these four will grade them on a scale of one to ten. The highest a person can get is forty, and the highest a team can get is two hundred. Money Munchers, since ya'll have six people, one of you needs to sit out."

"Hey, can we get off this roof and get on the boat now?" Mike asked.

"Nope!"

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Tristan_

"Okay, diving challenge. That's not so bad. I'm certain that I can lead my team to victory... Erm, as much as I can lead these guys."

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Mike-_

"I've never been a cameo contestant before," he says as he looks around the new confessional. "But hey, at least _we're_ not doing the challenges, right?"

A furious knock is heard on the door. "Hey!" Chris yells out once he stops knocking. "What did I _just _say?"

Mike rolls his eyes as he continues speaking to the camera. "Thanks to Svetlana's athletic powers, it's really easy to get up on this boat. But I'm only going to do this for confession cam purposes. I wouldn't want to enjoy being on a boat while Cam and Gwen can't get up here. Zoey? Oh, she's more than capable of getting up here."

* * *

"You teams get five minutes to decide who's doing what. In the meantime, put these on." He threw five scuba diving suits to each teams. "Get busy!"

* * *

_(Generous Gerbils)_

"Alright, who's doing what?" Tristan asked.

Shira raised an eyebrow at this.

Millie seemed to voice the near-silent girl's concerns. "Aren't we all doing the same thing?"

"Well, yeah. But we still need to decide who goes first and where they look."

"I'll do it!" Vivian volunteered, raising her hand high up in the air. "I can totally find some cat things!"

"Because cat things are _so_ valuable," Maurice sneered. He ducked when Vivian threw her shoe at him, causing her to snap her fingers in disappointment.

"Just find whatever you can, Vivian," Tristan said, handing her the suit. "Who wants to go next?"

Nobody spoke up.

"Fine then," he said. "I'll be second. Maurice, you're third, Shira's fourth, and Millie's last. That sound good?"

Millie and Vivian nodded while Maurice just rolled his eyes. Shira, predictably, did nothing.

"Okay then, suit up."

* * *

_(Money Munchers)_

"I'll sit out," Aidan said suddenly, raising his hand.

Frankie raised an eyebrow. "Really? So if we lose, you'll be willing to be voted off?"

His hand lowered, and Aidan's gaze turned to the floor.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Aidan-_

"I'm just not good at athletic stuff. Or brainy things. Or swimming." He sighs.

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Frankie-_

"Aidan seems useless," Frankie says. "But I know that not doing anything won't get him voted off. Runt seems too tight with him, and Nadia's his sister, so she won't vote for him. And it wouldn't take much for Nadia to convince Dominique not to vote for him. So no, he won't get voted off now."

He/She gives a wickedly devious grin. "But he doesn't know that."

* * *

"I'd say Runt should sit out," Frankie said.

Dominique crossed her arms together. "And why is that?"

"Anything of value to _him_ would be something as simple as a soda can."

As if to prove his/her point, Runt suddenly dove down on the floor, all for a spoon that caught his eye.

Dominique pursed her lips.

"Alright, fine. But if we lose this, he is _not_ becoming a scapegoat."

Frankie raised his/her hands in mock defeat. "You're the boss."

Dominique seemed pleased with this. "Good. Now let's get suited up and decide who's going first."

"I'll go first," Nadia said.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Nadia-_

"I _l__ove_ swimming. This one time, my family went to Hawaii, and we went snorkeling. Best vacation ever. For me. Aidan had a run in with an electric eel that shocked him 'with love'," she says, putting air quite on the last two words.

* * *

"I guess I'll go second," Aidan sighed.

"Sung Lee, Frankie?" Dominique asked. "Any of you want to go third?"

At this, Sung Lee raised his hand.

"I'll go fourth," Dominique said," which leaves you last, Frankie."

"Of course," he/she said.

"Great! Let's do this, team!" Dominique cheered, putting her hand out.

Runt, despite not participating in the challenge, put his hand there as well. The other four followed suit.

"Team Money Munchers!" she yelled.

"Team Money Munchers!" everyone cheered out, albeit at different degrees of excitement.

* * *

Once all was said and done, Nadia set herself at the edge of the railing, preparing to start.

"Each suit has five minutes of oxygen in it," Chris explained. "I'd suggest, y'know, not staying down that long. Ready? Begin!"

The twin dove down into the water, where she was met with the icy cold temperature that not even her suit could insolate. Then again, it wasn't that high quality of scuba gear.

Within a minute, her feet touched the sandy ground. Within two seconds, she spotted something shiny like silver. Snatching it up, she swam back up to the surface.

It didn't take long to get back to the ship, where a ladder was waiting for her.

"That was quick," Chris noted once Nadia climbed back up. "But whatever. Stand over there and wait till everyone's done diving. Gerbils, you're up.

Nadia strolled over to where Runt was just as Vivian of the Generous Gerbils dove into the water. Right when Nadia sat down and took off her helmet, Aidan walked over.

"So, how was the diving?"

She smirked. "It took me two minutes. Take a guess."

"Don't worry Aidster!" Runt said. "It'll be easy!"

"Will it?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Sure," Nadia shrugged. "Don't be so nervous. Try talking with the cameo contestants or whatever. I'm pretty sure they've done worse things than this."

"I'm not sure if that'll help."

"Then talk to Dominique. Oh, wait, no, she's talking with the cameo contestants. Guess you'll still have to do that."

"...Okay," he said, shuffling his way nervously to his other teammate.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Nadia-_

"My brother's always talking about how cool it'd be to meet the classic and newish contestants in real life, but I'm not surprised that he's so nervous about meeting them."

She smirks and leans towards the camera. "His favorite contestant is Gwen."

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Aidan-_

He breathes into a paper bag at a rapid pace. "I'm so nervous! I've always dreamed of meeting them face to face, but now I feel like I'm going to throw up! What if they're not like how they are on the show? What if they don't like me? I can't—I can't—" He faints, collapsing to the floor.

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Nadia-_

"Aidan, get up." She lightly kicks her unconscious brother. When he doesn't respond, she just drags him out of the confessional.

* * *

"So was it fun being on Total Drama?" Dominique asked the four of them.

"If you can call torture fun," Gwen quipped.

Cameron tapped his chin. "I suppose that it's relative to the person answering. I'm sure that someone like Ezekiel didn't have any fun, but I'd say that it was a good experience for most of us."

"I was trapped inside my mind by an evil personality that tried to kill everyone. How is _that_ a good experience," Mike countered, oddly miffed about it all.

"Oh, don't be like that Mike," Zoey lightly chided him, putting a hand on his hand.

"You said that he tried to _brain you with a club_," Mike said. "Of course I'm going to be 'like that' when we're talking about Mal."

"That doesn't mean that _everything_ about Total Drama was bad," she said. "None of us would have met if we weren't on that island."

Mike smiled. "Yeah, I guess so. I wouldn't have made such awesome friends or such a wonderful girlfriend if it weren't for this show."

Zoey blushed.

"Aww, that's so adorable!" Dominique said.

It was at this time that Aidan walked over. "Uh, hi guys!"

Since Mike and Zoey were too busy fawning over each other, Gwen took the liberty of greeting him. "Hey there. You guys ready for whatever sick crap Chris'll put you up to?"

"It's not so bad," Dominique said.

"Yeah," Aidan agreed. "No one's died yet, so how bad can it get?"

Gwen chuckled under her breathe. "You really shouldn't have said that."

"Why?"

Suddenly, the familiar chime was heard.

"That. That's why."

"Okay, not-campers!" Chris yelled out with help from a megaphone. "Vivian's been under for three-and-a-half minutes, Aidan's up next, I'm super hot, and it's time for you to sing!"

"They're singing?" Cameron asked. "Like in season three? Why?"

"Because pandering to the fanbase gives us more money," the host answered simply.

Zoey, no longer blushing from before, widened her eyes. "They're singing?!" she echoed.

"You semi-losers can sing too, if you want," Chris shrugged.

Zoey gasped.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Zoey-_

"Season three was my absolute _favorite_. Uhm, except for that love... decagon? You know, with Courtney liking Duncan, but he liked Gwen and Gwen like him, but Cody liked Gwen, but Sierra liked Cody, and Alejandro faked-liked Courtney when he actually liked Heather." She starts counting off on her fingers the number of people. "No, it'd be a love heptagon. Anyway, _besides that_, I loved season three, mostly for the songs. And to think that I'm actually able to sing on of them... _Wow!_"

A furious knock is heard on the door. "What is _with_ you non-players getting up here so easy?!" Chris' voice fumes.

Ignoring Chris, Zoey giggles. "I didn't get that adrenaline boost in season four for nothing! Getting from the boat to the deck is as easy as _that_," she says, snapping her fingers for emphasis.

* * *

The music, which had a kind of sailor-ish tune to it, started.

_"This should be a cinch,"_ Aidan sang, putting his scuba helmet on and walking towards the other end of the railing.

_"Nothing there to it,"_ Nadia kind of half-sang. It was evident in her tone that she didn't want to sing, but felt it better to get her line over it.

_"Just do your best, then take a rest,"_ Dominique encouraged.

_"Or you're booted off for this,"_ Frankie sang, earning a glare from both Nadia and Dominique, as well as a 'not cool buddy' look from Runt.

Aidan gulped.

Vivian emerged from the water, waving a pink object in the air. "Got something!" she yelled as she swam back for the boat.

_"Shoo be doo, shoo be doo, shoo be doo be doo,"_ sang everyone, even the cameo contestants.

_"Yooooou've got so much to do!"_ Zoey sang.

_"So geeet to it," _sang Gwen.

The five Money Munchers that weren't preparing to dive echoed in unison. _"So geeet to it."_

Aidan, now at the edge of the boat, was so nervous that it felt like an atomic bomb was exploding in his stomach. _"I'm so scared, I think I'm going to die."_

He dove down under water just as Tristan got himself ready to dive next.

After about two minutes of Aidan being underwater, Maurice started singing the next part. _"This should be a snap."_

_"Diving's where it's at,"_ Vivian sang.

_"Don't you fret, you'll do it,"_ Millie sang.

_"Unless you run out of gas,"_ sang Shira (as much as she could sing, at any rate), pointing to the meter that showed how much oxygen he had.

Then, Aidan emerged from the water, one hand clutching a small knickknack, the other holding onto a swordfish for dear life while it swam wildly in the water.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Aidan yelled.

Instead, Chris just instructed Tristan to dive anyway.

_"Shoo be doo, shoo be doo, shoo be doo be doo,"_ everyone sang.

_"Yoooooou've got so much to do,"_ Cameron sang.

_"So geeet to it,"_ Mike sang.

Maurice shoved Tristan to the railing. _"Geeet to it."_

_"I'm so calm, I think I'll do just fine,"_ Tristan sang, diving down.

And then, the singing stopped, though the music still played on. Each person took well under five minutes to get their item and swim back up. Tristan took about three minutes to get something, Sung Lee and Maurice took four, while Dominique and Shira took three.

"Frankie, you're up," Chris said.

Frankie, though, was having trouble with his/her helmet. "It's not staying on. Just let the other team go before me.

Chris shrugged. "Whatever. Millie, you're up."

Millie shrugged and dove underwater, and a shadow of a smirk danced on Frankie's lips.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Frankie-_

"I was faking it. I mean, who has _helmet_ troubles? I wanted to be last so that I have a better chance at finding something good. Where there's more items than other spots, that means that they haven't checked there as much. So there's something good just bound to be there."

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Cameron-_

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who saw that," he asks. "That Frankie character's faking it. No one can have helmet troubles when they _just_ had their helmet on a good fifteen minutes ago. Oh, I really wish I could do something about it! But I can't... I guess I'm going to have to trust these new competitors to have some common sense and boot _him_ off before _he _boots _them_."

A furious knock is heard on the door. "That is _it_!" Chris' voice cries out. "Stop getting into these confessionals! You are _not_ a player anymore!"

Cameron shrugged to the camera. "I doubt I'll have the chance to make it back up here anyway. I had Mike and Zoey toss me up here."

* * *

After a good four minutes, Millie emerged from the water holding something golden.

As she swam back to the boat, Chris said to Frankie, "Dude, or dudette, time to take a dive."

Frankie nodded, having gotten his/her helmet on correctly. He/She walked over to the railing. "If this isn't the Mariana Trench, Chris, _I swear to god_—"

Chris interrupted Frankie by pushing him/her into the water. Once that was done, he turned to the other nine contestants. "While he's doing that, you guys congregate over with your teams and—"

"Congregate?" Nadia smirked. "What, are you getting word tips from Noah?"

Chris glared. "And guess who's singlehandedly getting their teammate from a wild swordfish?" he said, motioning to Aidan, who was _still_ being forced to ride a swordfish.

"But he doesn't _need_ any he—"

"Don't care, go get him."

Nadia groaned, diving in the water and swimming towards her brother.

Chris checked his wrist, despite there not being a watch on it. "And would you look at that! Three minutes in and Frankie hasn't come up yet! Which team will win? Who will lose? And who's getting mauled by a swordfish? Stick around to find out when we return!"

After a beat of silence, Chris turned away from the camera and brought his attention back to the ocean. Besides the humorous sight of Nadia being attacked by the swordfish that Aidan was still holding on to, there was an interference in the middle of the water, showing the figure that was about to ascend to the surface.

The music, which was little more than a whisper before, became louder and louder in anticipation.

And then... A clenched hand got to the surface first, followed by Frankie's head. He/She took off his/her helmet, but said nothing. The look on Frankie's face was _beyond_ anger. So much so that it boiled until he/she said, "THIS IS NOT THE MARIANA TRENCH."

_"SHOO BE DOO, SHOO BE DOO, SHOO BE DOO BE DOOOOOO!"_ The music then came to an end.

* * *

Once everyone got back to the deck, including the twins and Frankie, they all stood in two lines, one for each team.

"That was okay diving skills," Chris said, standing in front of them. "I _was_ going to add some traps and stuff, but that'd cost too much for what we have planned."

"What... _do_ you have planned?" Tristan asked warily.

"Oh ho, you'll see. You'll _all_ see," he laughed sinisterly. "Now then, Money Munchers, you're up first, going by the order of each diver."

"So, me?" Nadia asked.

"Duh."

"Alright," she said, walking over to the edge that was closest to the four cameo contestants. She held up a silver pocket watch. "Tada! It's silver. Isn't that valuable?"

"Is it _actual_ silver?" Gwen asked, eyebrow raised.

"How should I know?"

"Ooh, I have a way of testing it!" Cameron piped up, taking out a chemistry kit from behind his back. "Just toss it over."

She did, and it hit Cameron in the face. Taking a few seconds to recuperate, he grabbed the pocket watch and a beaker of some type of acid.

"Where'd you get that, Cam?" Mike asked.

"A friend gave it to me," he said, paying more attention to the knickknack than Mike.

Maurice snorted. "You have friends?" Then, another shoe was thrown at him. This time, he didn't duck.

Vivian was now shoeless. "Next time, it's the socks," she threatened.

Once Cameron made sure that he was wearing surgical gloves and safety goggles, he poured two drops on the pocket watch. It instantly dissolved away the silver color.

"It's fake," he said, holding it up for Nadia to see. "Real silver wouldn't have reacted to the acid like that."

Nadia was disappointed. "Oh... Well, it's got to be good for _something_, right?"

Gwen shrugged. "The clock itself doesn't work, so... I'd say about a three."

"Three," Cameron said.

"Three," Mike said.

"Seven," Zoey said, earning odd looks from the other three. "It's still a nice little watch," she explained.

"Nadia gets a pitiful sixteen," Chris said. "Aidan, let's see if you can top that."

Aidan walked over and took out a blue handheld console. "It's one of Sam's Game Mans that Chef never gave back," he said. "It's got to be valuable for _him_, right?"

"See?!" Frankie screeched. "This wasn't the Mariana Trench! The only place that could of been is in—"

"Atlantis!" Chris interrupted. "Of _course_ the lost city of Atlantis is in the Mariana Trench! Good eye, Frankie!"

Frankie's eye started twitching.

"Does it still work?" Gwen asked Aidan.

He fumbled for the on/off switch, and when he clicked it, the screen turned on.

"So it works," Gwen said. "I'll give it a six; games aren't that valuable."

"But it's really important to Sam, and Chris never said who exactly it had to be valuable to. So I say it's a nine," said Mike.

"Nine!" Zoey agreed.

"Eight," Cameron said.

"Ooh, and Aidan gets a pretty good score of thirty-two, giving his team a total of forty-eight. Not bad, but it could be better. Next up is Sung Lee."

Sung Lee walked over to the railing, taking out... nothing.

"Uh, dude? Where's your trinket?" he asked.

Sung Lee shrugged. "There was nothing there that could be deemed of value to anyone else."

"Animal boy brought a _game_ that got him more points than a mini clock. I think you could've looked a _bit_ better," Chris deadpanned. "Judges?"

"Zero," Mike said, giving an apologetic shrug.

"Zero," Cameron said. "Sorry."

"Totally a zero," said Gwen.

"Seven," said Zoey. Before any of them could give her a confused look, she elaborated on it. "Even nothing has value, right?"

"Way to be optimistic, I guess," Chris shrugged. "Despite having nothing, Sung Lee managed to gain his team seven more points, giving a total of fifty-five! Can Dominique do better?"

"I hope I can!" Dominique said as she walked over. She brought out some... lip gloss? "I found some of Lindsay's lip gloss! She values it more than anything, right?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask 'Taylor'?" Gwen said, voice dripping in sarcasm. "Seriously, I doubt she even _remembers_ what lip gloss is."

"That's being a little too mean, Gwen," Zoey lightly scolded. "Give Lindsay a little more credit. She knows Tyler's name now... right?"

The goth girl shrugged. "Heck if I know. But whatever. I'll give it a... hey, wait, what color is it?"

Dominique read the description on the tiny capsule. "'Coral Blue Number Four'."

"Eight," Gwen said. "Only because it's blue."

"Same here; eight," said Mike.

"Eight!" Zoey chirped.

"Seven," said Cameron.

"That gives Dominique a nice score of thirty-one, giving her team a total of eighty-six," Chris announced.

"Then you'd better eighty-six that score, McLean," Frankie said, pushing Dominique away, "because my item's the most valuable."

"We can't know that unless you show us," Mike pointed out.

"Yes, yes," he/she said dismissively. "Now then, if we consider the game system and the make up not being proof that we're not at the Mariana Trench, which it totally is, _my_ item is _definite_ proof that what I saw was not, in fact, Atlantis, but rather..."

He/She took out a golden statuette that looked exactly like a mini Chris, from the mischievous eyes to the butt-looking cleft on his chin. "The sunken remains of Camp Wawanawkwa."

After a beat of silence, Chris groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ugh, come on. The entire _point_ of this is to make viewers think we're actually at these iconic places. If they know that it's not, they won't donate as much."

"They wouldn't donate anyway," Maurice sneered.

Chris scoffed. "You know what? Screw it, we'll just edit this out. Frankie, just get your totally super hot statuette graded already."

Gwen narrowed her eyes at the statuette. "Looks like one of those long-lost ones that Mal had to find a few days ago."

Mike visibly tensed at the mention of Mal. "W-Weren't those things in season t-two?" he stuttered. Zoey, seeing his anxiety, consoled him by rubbing his back.

Gwen didn't seem to notice his discomfort. Or didn't really care. "Nah, this doesn't look like tinfoil wrapped around chocolate. Seems like a real golden thing."

"The question is, is it _real_ gold?" Cameron asked.

"See for yourself," Frankie said, tossing the item to him.

Gwen, having a bit of foresight, caught the statuette instead, then handed to Cameron. "It's not that heavy," Cameron said, "so I doubt that it's real gold."

"Then do the acid test."

"No, you don't understand. I'm perhaps the least athletic person anyone has ever seen," he said. "I have no muscles, and yet I can _still_ lift this. It'd be impossible for me to lift real gold."

Frankie looked appalled. "Then, then what _is_ it?"

"Worthless," Gwen said just as Cameron opened his mouth. Hesitantly, Cameron nodded in agreement.

"It _would_ be valuable to Chris, though," Zoey pointed out.

"But useless to everyone else," Gwen countered. "Zero."

Mike, no longer freaked out about Mal, shrugged. "Chris is still a person... surprisingly. So if he likes it, then it has to have _some_ value. I'd give about a four."

"Two," said Cameron.

"I guess I'll go with four also," Zoey said.

"And just like that, Frankie manages to get the second lowest score, which is a ten," Chris said. "The Money Munchers have ninety-one points, well below half of what a team can have at most. Let's see how the Generous Gerbils fare! Oh, _ger_-bils!" he sang.

Vivian walked up, holding a pink button. "It's a button with a cat on it!" she giggled, stretching her arm out for the four cameos to see.

"It's cute!" Zoey said. "I'll give it an eight!"

"It's cute," Gwen said at a completely contrasting tone. "I'll give it a zero."

"It's not all that _valuable_," Cameron said. "So I'll give it a three."

"Same here," Mike said. "Three."

"And Vivian gets her team an even weaker start than the other team, with a score of fourteen," Chris said. "Let's see if Tristan can do better."

"I can try," Tristan shrugged, walking over to the cameo contestants. From his jacket pocket, he took out a choke collar. "I think this is one of Zoey's, rights?"

"One of my spare ones," Zoey confirmed, instinctively placing a hand on the choke collar she was currently wearing. Once Tristan tossed it to her, she continued. "It's not all that valuable to me, though. But it's nice to get this back! So I'll rate it an eight!"

"One," Gwen said. "Choke collars remind me of Duncan." Then she shivered in disgust.

"It's one of Zoey's, though," Mike said. "I'll give it an eight."

"Seven," said Cameron.

"Tristan got himself a twenty-four, giving his team thirty-eight points! Not too shabby, but you're still behind. Let's see if Maurice can pick things back up," Chris said.

"_I_ have..." Maurice took out a... can of hairspray. "_This!_"

"...Is–is that hairspray?" Mike asked, not sure what to make of it. "Who could it _possibly_ be valuable for?"

"I don't know, hair-freaks?" Maurice shrugged.

"Well, I'll give him that," Gwen said. "Five."

"Five," said Cameron. "I'm sure someone like Anne Maria would find that _very_ valuable."

"Four," Zoey said, a minute trace of anger in her tone.

"Uh, I guess four," Mike said, noticing Zoey's slight shift in emotion. "Hair spray isn't that good."

"Not to _you_," Maurice sneered. "You have that weird 'mahn-go' hair. But to someone like Tristan over here..."

He made his way over to a very wary Tristan and started pointing at the two fluffy spikes of hair that protruded each side of his otherwise shaggy brown hair. "It's like a necessity! After all, how could someone have hair like that _naturally_?"

Tristan responded by pushing the redhead to the ground. "It _is_ natural, you jerk," he snarled.

"My vote still stands," Gwen said.

Cameron and Zoey nodded. Mike did too, though followed it with, "... 'Mahn-go'?"

"Moving on," Chris said. "Maurice managed to get his team eighteen points, giving a total of fifty-six. They just need thirty-eight more points from Shira and Millie for them to win, but can they with this degree of suckitude? Who knows? Let's just get on with the show! Shira, go time!"

Shira nodded, walking over to the railing. She brought out a soggy marshmallow. Yes, a soggy marshmallow. It was as swollen as a mosquito bite.

"Uh... What?" Gwen asked, too confused to create an actual sentence.

"Any, uhm, reason that you got a marshmallow?" Cameron asked.

"This marshmellow marks the beginning," Shira explained. "They were a symbol of safety for seasons one, four, and five. Their value consists in having one alone; it kept you in the game, giving you more of a chance to obtain the million than ever."

Not a single person spoke. Some due to shock, some due to awe, and some due to thinking how stupid it was to get a _marshmallow_, of all things.

Finally, Zoey broke the silence. "She's right. These marshmallows were more important than I thought. Than any of us thought, right?"

"... Yeah," Mike murmurred, then said with more conviction, "Yeah!"

"As much as I'd like to give it a ten," Cameron said, "it still doesn't change the fact that not _everyone_ put these marshmallows on such a high pedestal. Besides, there were also toxic marshmallows that meant that a person was _not_ safe. I'm really sorry, but I'm giving it a three."

"I'm giving it a higher score," Zoey said. "But Cam does make some good points. Seven!"

"Five, then," Mike said.

"Zero," Gwen said. "Those marshmellows always tasted stale."

"Oh, come on, Gwen," Zoey urged. "Can't you give a little higher score?"

"Nah, don't feel like it."

"And that brings the Gerbils to seventy-one points! They just need twenty or so to beat the Money Munchers, and it's all riding on Millie. Let's hope she has something good, or the Gerbils will face their second elimination ceremony. And this time, they might actually lose a member."

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Vivian-_

"I don't like how Chris put a lot of pressure on my friend. But I'm sure that Millie'll do just fine!"

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Maurice-_

"I'm not worried that we might lose this. If we do, then it's bye bye kitty, eheh heh heh!"

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Gwen (?)-_

Instead of Gwen, Chris is sitting on the seat, one leg crossed ontop the other. With his arms crossed, he's tapping his fingers idly as a furious knock is heard on the door.

"Let me in, McLean!" Gwen's voice sounded out.

"You're not a competitor, so _no_," he seethes.

"Ugh!" Gwen's voice groans. "You're so unfair!"

* * *

"Go on, _Millie_," Maurice said, voice dripping with venom when he mentioned her name.

"Go on, Millie!" Tristan repeated in a more encouraging tone.

Millie nodded, making her way to the cameo contestants. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Uhm, hi! My name is Millie. You don't know me, but I definitely know you guys. I've seen just about every episode of Total Drama, and I have you four figured out. I know that all four of you have gone through some tough times, but I also know that you four are such good friends, and if one of you becomes happy, then you all become a little bit happier inside as a result."

"Cheesy, but true," Gwen commented.

Millie continued. "And for one of you to become happy, you need to regain what you've lost. One of you can't do that, I know."

At this, Mike frowned, but tried his best to mask it.

"But another one of you regained part of what you lost. You're only just missing a small piece of it. So! I searched all underwater until I found... _this_."

She held up her item high in the air, causing all four cameo contestants to gasp loudly.

"Where did you get that?!" Mike asked, eyes widened. He snapped his head to Zoey. "Was that where it was?!"

Zoey could only manage a shaky nod. "I don't... How..."

Millie tossed it to Zoey, who caught it as if her life depended on it.

"What is it?" Tristan asked.

"...The necklace..." she breathed.

It was true. In her hands was the oh-so-familiar golden medallion that had Mike's face engraved in it, the one that he had given her back in season four prior to his elimination.

"_The necklace!_" she yelled out suddenly, then started laughing in disbelief, all while tears were streaming down her face. She clutched it to her chest, wanting to never let it go.

"Zoey, where..." Mike started, but then faltered.

"Everyone wanted me to believe that you wouldn't come back," Zoey said. "That Mal would always be in control. And... even if that was true, I never wanted to believe it. So I buried the necklace on the island, so there was still a piece of you there..."

Mike was speechless.

"But now it's back!" she exclaimed. "It's back! _You're _back!" She gave Mike a great big hug.

Gwen smiled. "Ten."

"Ten!" Cameron said.

"Ten!" both Mike and Zoey said.

"In a shocking turn of events," Chris said, "Millie managed to get a perfect forty, which makes the Generous Gerbils our winners!"

Some of the Money Munchers groaned, while the others were too touched with the ensuing scene to have any ill feelings.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Frankie-_

Frankie kicks the wall furiously, spouting out swears that have to be continuously beeped.

**_(Bzzt)_**  
_-Dominique-_

"I don't even care that we lost! This is too touching for me to feel sad about anything!"

* * *

"I got to say," Chris continued, "it's not _too_ surprising. Ya'll have more team members; you're pretty much forced to lose the first elimination challenge. But anyway, the challenge ends, and the elimination ceremony begins in one hour!"

He left, plain as that.

Some competitors opted to go back to their rooms, while the others decided to stay on deck and talk with the cameo contestants. Two of them, anyway. Mike and Zoey were still too busy hugging each other.

Among those that stayed were Runt, Aidan, and Maurice. "So, uh, I guess we won't see any of you again," Aidan said.

"We'll always be on TV," Gwen said. "It's not like we're going to _die_ out here, you know."

Maurice crossed his arms together. "What a shame," he said, completely serious.

Aidan glared at the redheaded boy.

Maurice shrugged in response.

"Yeah, but don't worry about us. We'll be fine out here," Gwen continued, then turned to Cameron. "Cameron, what was it you were talking about the lake?"

"It's freshwater," Cameron said. "Perfectly safe to drink from. Dirty with debris, but safe."

"Alright!" Runt cheered, draping his arms over Aidan's and Maurice's shoulders. "Our new friends are fine and us semi-new friends did great in this challenge! Yeah!"

"Yeah, great..." Aidan chuckled nervously.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Aidan-_

"I don't think Runt's the type of friend I want," he says. "He didn't even _do _anything in this challenge, and he's cheering about how we _l__ost_. In fact, I don't think _anyone_ on this show would be a good friend. If they're not outright jerks or my sister, they're trying too hard to win this game."

He sighs. "I'm not sure whether to vote him off or not. After all, Sung Lee _did_ bring in nothing."

* * *

_(Money Munchers: Girl's Room)_

"I can't _believe_ we lost!" Nadia fumed, pacing around the room. "All because of that _stupid _necklace thing!"

"It wasn't so stupid to Mike and Zoey," Dominique countered, swinging her legs absently while she was sitting on the lower bunk. "But don't worry, we'll win next time!"

"_'We'll win next time'_," Nadia mocked. "There won't _be_ a next time for one of us. This team, _our team_, is sucking worse than–than _movie remakes!_"

"Nadia..."

"It's only a matter of time before we're all voted off! Before _I'm_ voted off!"

"Nadia, please calm down," Dominique pleaded.

"Calm do—_Calm down?! _One of us is getting voted off because our team _sucks_. Why should I be _calm_ about _that_?"

"Because I won't vote for you," Dominique blurted out.

Nadia stopped her rant so suddenly, her entire body spasmed so much, she had to sit down on the wooden floor. "...What?" she managed to gasp.

"I... I won't vote for you," said Dominique with initial hesitance.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Dominique-_

"I started wondering whether it was a mistake to promise that," she admits. "She makes the most drama on my team and has made some... questionable decisions. I wasn't really thinking when I said I wouldn't vote for her, but I felt kind of compelled to stick with my decision. Maybe it was just seeing her so, so _helpless_ after her little rant that made me so sure about this."

She sighs. "I just hope I'm not wrong."

* * *

In a voice that was just loud enough to be a whisper, Nadia said, "Really...?"

Dominique nodded.

"Not Aidan either, right?"

Another nod.

Her mood lifted ten-fold. "I don't know _how_ I can thank you."

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Nadia-_

"You have _no idea_ how relieved I am."

* * *

"Help me decide who to vote for, and consider that dept paid," Dominique said

"You don't have a choice yet?"

"No... I don't want to vote off _anyone_!"

Nadia smirked. "I have an idea."

* * *

(Money Munchers: Boy's Room)

"You know, sometimes, I wish that coffee was a religion."

"That's great, Runt," Aidan said absent-mindedly as he fixed the sheets on his bed.

"Because then I'd be able to worship it and stuff."

"Uh-huh."

"And then the magical coffee goddess would spread its blessing of coffee inside each and everyone's homes."

"Good for you."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Not a second later did Runt swing open the door, revealing Frankie to be the knocker.

"Hey there, buddy!" Runt greeted. "Would you like to hear about the coffee religion?"

"No," he/she said bluntly. Frankie then used his/her foot to shut the door, saying, "Gents, a word with you."

"What's wrong?" Aidan asked, pausing for a moment to look around the room. "And shouldn't Sung Lee be here with us?"

"It wouldn't matter," Frankie said dismissively. "What _does_ matter is who you're going to vote for."

"Voting?" Runt questioned, cocking his head to the side.

"Eliminating from the contest," Aidan clarified, causing the coffee addict to gasp.

"What?! But we can't just eliminate one of our friends!"

Frankie raised an eyebrow. "Would _you_ rather be the one eliminated?"

"Yes!"

"Runt, go do something on the other side of the room," Aidan said.

Runt's demeanor changed instantly, as if the preceding conversation never happened. "You got it, buddy!" So he headed for the other side of the room, doing who knew what.

Aidan leaned closer to Frankie and whispered, "Who did you have in mind to vote for?"

He/She whispered back the answer.

"I see..." Aidan murmurred.

"Be sure to convince Runt to vote for the same person," Frankie demanded, then left the room before Aidan could answer back.

Just when he/she left, Nadia entered the room. "Hey bro. Any idea who you're voting for?"

"Mmhmm," Aidan hummed. Then he noticed how... frazzled his sister look. "Nadia? Are you okay?"

"O-Of course I am!" she said a little too quick and defensively. "Look, just tell me who you're voting for, a'ight?"

He whispered his choice into Nadia's ear.

She nodded slightly. "Good. Exactly who I was going to vote for. Is anyone else going to vote for them?"

"Frankie, and I'm going to try and convince Runt," he answered.

"Good," she said, heading for the door. "See you later." She left.

Aidan took a deep breathe, clasped his hands together, and turned to Runt, who was completely distracted by the wall. "Runt! Pal! _Buddy!_" he said, putting on a fake smile. "How would you like to vote for who _I'm_ voting for?"

Runt, now focused on Aidan, frowned. "Aw, what? I can't just vote off one of my friends!"

"Please, Runt?"

"..._Ffffiiiine_," he moaned. "But only because you're my friend."

"Wow, don't I feel special," Aidan deadpanned. "Alright, listen closely. We're voting for..."

* * *

_(Deck of Shame, hours later)_

The Money Muncher's first time at their voting ceremony was nerve-racking, to say the least. Anyone not blissfully ignorant or just straight up apathetic of the tension looming in the air was sitting in their seat, anxiety ruling them all.

Chris approached the six teens with his trademark smile. "Hello current losers! How're ya'll liking our Deck of Shame so far?"

"Bite me," Nadia snarled.

Chris placed a hand on his chest in mock offense. "Ouch, Nadia. Harsh. But anyway, you all have some reason to be here tonight. Let's list them off, shall we?

"Sung Lee definitely did the worst, where he didn't bring _anything_, but that still somehow got him points. Nadia and Frankie got two of the lowest scores, since their items were dubbed 'not valuable'. By the way Frankie, I would have totally given you, like, fifty points for that statuette."

"But you didn't," Frankie pointed out.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I kind of wanted you guys to lose today, so I didn't do any of my usual intervening. You guys sucked on your own! How 'bout that? Anyhow, Dominique and Aidan had gained some good points, but it still didn't help your team in the end. And Runt did nothing."

He produced a tin platter that had five marshmallows. "Let's start with the ones that had no votes against them; Dominique, Frankie, Nadia, and Runt, you guys are safe." He threw the four marshmallows to the listed contestants.

Aidan seemed surprised, and Sung Lee was too busy meditating to even care. "Why am I in the final two?!" Aidan asked hurriedly.

"You got some votes against you, of course. But! Is it enough to get you voted off, or did Sung Lee get just enough to be the bootee?"

Runt snickered.

"With only two votes against him, the final marshmallow of the night goes to..."

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

"...Aidan." Chris tossed the final marshmallow to the boy, who breathed a sigh of relief before fumbling to catch it. "Sorry monk boy, you're out."

Sung Lee shrugged. "Expecting to win when the chances are minuscule is a fool's effort, anyhow. Enjoying one's time is the real treasure, as you can never relive the present."

"You did _nothing_," Frankie said. "What is there to enjoy?"

Instead of answering, Sung Lee walked over to the giant slingshot and positioned himself in front of the sling.

"Oh, I _so_ love my job," Chris chuckled sinisterly as he activated the Fling of Shame and sent the monk flying off into the horizon.

"I... kind of feel bad for voting him off," Aidan said.

"I don't," said Nadia, having an edge of anger in her voice that went unnoticed by everyone else.

* * *

_**(Bzzt)**_  
_-Nadia-_

"Aidan had two votes against him. I didn't vote for him, and he sure as heck wouldn't vote for himself. Frankie, Dominique, _and_ Runt said they were voting for Sung Lee, but that couldn't be possible when only four of us voted for him. One of them went back on their word, and I think I might know _who_..." She growls under her breathe. "Oh, you'd better hope I'm wrong Dominique, or you're leaving here in a body cast."

* * *

Chris stood in front of the giant slingshot and addressed the camera. "Ten contestants remain, but not for long! Tune in next time for an all new drama-filled episode of! Total! Drama! _Chaaaarity!_"

* * *

**A/N: What, you though someone _useful_ was getting voted off? Come on, don't be silly.**

**Introducing our second, third, fourth, and fifth cameo contestants (Izzy being more of a non-sequitor, but she's still a cameo!), it was Cameron, Gwen, Mike, and Zoey! I hope I didn't force the latter two down your throats, but I really wanted to kind of resolve their things that were left unaddressed at the All Stars finale. Specifically the necklace.**

**I really liked writing this chapter! It only took a week as opposed to chapter one's month (but for you guys, it was only five days. I've been writing this for a while, you know! Ever since December!)****. Sorry I didn't show any actual underwater stuff; it was too clunky to write.**

**So, yeah. Anyway, I'd like to think that Aidan is my spirit animal, considering that he's just kind of awkward and a worry-wart. But the main difference between him and me is that, while I want some true friends, I wouldn't be so quick to write off someone just because of a few flaws. Or maybe I would. I don't know.**

**Don't be fooled; he's not exactly based on me. That'd just made for lazy character writing, considering that I don't even _have_ a personality. Aidan's a guy, I'm a girl; his favorite character's Gwen, mine is Zoey (and Mike, since he's too Adorkable.) So if Mike and Zoey seem more... 'there' than Cam and Gwen, blame my bias and my inability to give Cameron more of a role. Seriously, Cameron's actually the most interesting to write on account of his common sense.**

**Where was I... oh! So, if anything, Aidan's based on the generic "I have no friends because I'm too unsociable and everyone is jerk and what the devil do you mean I'm being shallow and narrowminded go back to 4chan you hater" person. Whoo.**

**Soooo... Sung Lee got the boot, there's a possible backstabber within the team, and the drama's just starting to flare up. That about sums it up.**

**Fun Fact: I originally had a filler chapter planned. It involved Spin the Bottle, except the person the bottle spun to would be asked a question by the spinner, to which the spin-ee would have to answer the question. Maurice would also mention some strip poker, only to have a running gag of Vivian throwing her shoes, socks, and cat items at him every time he mentioned it. And then there'd be a subplot with Aidan and Frankie going to find food for all eleven of them. ****Some elements of that made it into this episode: Vivian throwing her shoes at Maurice, for instance.**

**And look at that; I lied about there being sporadic updating! Ha ha! But don't celebrate yet; I already had this chapter pre-written, and as of now I don't have any more full pre-written chapters. Guess I'll have to type quicker if I want to get the third chapter out in time, eh?**

**NEXT CHAPTER: _(Episode Three: "Flesh and Flood")_ The final ten delve into the Colombian Mines to deliver Emeralds to a familiar face. Drama flares, lively scares, evil lurks, all the works!**

**Until next time, folks!**

**...alright, this A/N is way too long.**


End file.
